removing pencil marks
 

I have been working on a large church banner for quite some time now. I had an initial design which had many minor modifications along the way. I am close to finishing the top now, but I really need to remove many, many pencil marks that were made when I *thought* the design was finished. The worst was when I started to put on the celtic knot work border, I discovered it was way too overwhelming and I had to change the plan. But, I had already marked the border with pencil and the placement of the motifs, and it is all so visible now.

Do any of you know a method to remove the pencil marks--or at least to make them far less visible? The fabric is all 100% cotton, and the marks are all on various shades of white and cream.

Thank you for your responses. If the markings were close to where the border or appliqués were, that is one thing; but since the border appliqué was changed entirely, the markings are all in the wrong spots. Ugh.

Carolyn

Could you try erasing them? I would try one of the hand held erasers on a sample first. Some erasers just smear pencil marks. Or I suppose they would wash out if you are planning to wash the banner when you finish.

Try a pencil eraser on the end of a pencil (a clean one) and see if that helps

I just read that you should use hairspray. Try it on one spot to check it out.

Erasing does not work. I've tried that many times. Sigh.

I think I've heard rubbing alcohol helps but I would definitely try it on a scrap. Good luck and let us know how things work out for you.

I used a fabric eraser but had to keep cleanig it otherwise it did smudge and make a mess.

Oops. I recently took a quilt design class and the teacher told us to NOT mark our fabrics with pencil, because it was impossible to get out. :(

Maybe a google search "how to remove pencil marks from fabric" would yield results.

I just finished hand quilting a quilt and had a lot of pencil marks. I used an eraser, but it only erased a few of the marks. I found success using a product called Marking Pencil Removal from Quilter's Rule Int'l. It is a liquid spray. I sprayed it on the mark, let it sit briefly, then scrubbed with a soft bristle toothbrush. I had to repeat two or three times on the most stubborn marks, but when it dried, all the marks were gone. I highly recommend it.

I agree with the suggestions about pencil erasers -- although I wouldn't use the pink ones. I've had the best luck with either the white block erasers or the grey kneadable erasers (HL sells them with art supplies for a few bucks). I use the erasers to get the excess graphite off the fabric (the kneadable erasers are especially good at "absorbing" the graphite) and then use the Tide Stick on any residual marks with cold water. It doesn't always come out 100% with just the Tide Stick, but by using that to pre-treat, it always comes out for me in the wash (I wash in cold water with Tide Free). Definitely make sure the pencil is totally gone before putting it in the dryer.

Here's a link to other options, but so far I've never needed to use them... but if it went through the dryer, these might help. I've given this to parents who already washed/dried their child's school uniform & it worked to get the pencil stains out of their white polo shirts. http://www.geeksonhome.com/how_65238...il-stains.html

I have had pretty good success using a white eraser. I bought the large white ones that came two to a package at Walmart. I only use them on fabric.

I've been using pencil for years. I always launder my finished project after the binding is finished. Only had a mark left once when I was pretty ( heavy handed, marked darkly) that time I spritzed with shout & relaundered, all came out.

I'm with ckcowl...I use pencil all the time and have had almost no issues with it washing out. Only once, when, as you I got a little heavy-handed when changing a quilting design on white fabric. A bit of dish soap and a soft bristled toothbrush - sometimes repeated - and a couple of washings and even those marks were removed.

Being a banner, maybe she doesn't want to wash it.....try an art gum eraser...found at art supply stores....maybe JAF or Michaels has in their painting depts.

I've used a pink pearl eraser with good results, but I make sure my lines are very light.

It also depends on the type of pencil lead you use. I have a few of those off white erasers that say in black print on them " Fabric Eraser".

Peckish,
What did your teacher recommend using? Just curious...
lots2do

She said to use a Sewline pencil or something similar, designed specifically for marking on (and disappearing from) fabric.

By the way, I attended a 4-day Ricky Tims/Alex Anderson seminar last spring, and Alex Anderson said the same thing. She also said she does not use and will not recommend using Frixion pens.

I got a bottle of "marking pencil removal" and I use a special "bohin fabric eraser" works for me, good luck

Sometimes a Shout wipe works for me to remove marks

I use QuikGo speed spotter to easily remove pencil marks. (see my Blog in this forum to see a picture of this product and a pencil on cotton sample showing how to use it and remove the marks) This will soon be a non issue for you...just relax.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...t-t260871.html

Above is the link to the question I posted on QB regarding removing pencil marks. There are some great tips I tried. I had white fabric. Some of the marks disappeared and some were very faint after trying a variety of methods. Good luck!

3 parts rubbing alcohol
1 part water
1 generous squirt of CLEAR dish detergent
Pour solution into a jar, tightly covered. This will last a long time.
When ready to remove the pencil marks, saturate a cotton ball with the solution and rub over the pencil mark. When dry, the pencil mark should be gone.

I have had some success using Magic Eraser - dry removing pencil.

Peckish - what was the reason why Alex Anderson does not recommend Frixion?

I was going to say for a "next time I do this" - to use the Frixion because one of the things that I love about it is if I change my mind when marking a quilt, I take the heat from the iron and it disappears so that I can change my mind.

I have used this formula for many years and it works. However, I normally wash my project after I finish it. The suggestion of using it on a scrap first, is a good idea.

I mark with pencil and use the eraser to remove the marks when finished.

Because they're not designed for fabric use. She worries about the damage the ink may do to the fabric. She was very adamant about it.

Thanks for the link Bree123