I have gotten tired of using those pencils for marking my quilts because they cost so much and do not last long enough. The other day I ran into a BOX of chalk from when my dad was working at a school and they tossed it out because it was "dustfree" and did not work good on the boards. I sharpened one end and WOW, it works great!!!! No more marking pencils for me!!!!

I have used chalk to mark things several times. I like it but it can sometimes get brushed off.

chalk is all I use now.

I like chalk for my smaller projects but rarely use it on larger ones because of how easily it can brush off. I still use the water soluble pens for my larger quilts. To make them last longer (since it's air that dries them out so fast) I place them in ziploc baggies between uses. That really helps to extend the life them.

Thank you for the advice on putting the pens in a ziploc bag. I will do that if I ever get pens again.

I use white chalk too. I did buy a box of colored chalk because sometimes I'm marking on white fabric. I didn't read the back of the box and it says it may stain fabric. I haven't used it yet because of the warning. Has anyone used the colored chalk and had it stain your fabric?

I use tailor's chalk. Looks like giant guitar picks. Love it.

On my Broncos king quilt I used many different types of things to mark my stencils. The marking pens that are water soluble I might have gotten one block marked before the pen ran out. (this was a large block with intricate stenciling). First I used a pencil and for those of you that have been quilting for awhile know that is a no-no. I have learned that the hard way. After the pen, I started using those really small colored chalk. I kept having to sharpening them but they worked great for me. I won't use any thing else now that I found this.

Dingle, yes. I have used the colored chalk and I took a damp rag and it came off really easy.

I guess I should elaborate on my previous answer. The colored chalk that I use is the really small chalk that comes in a black box and has what I would call a "pen" that you load the chalk into. It reminds me of the pencils that you put the lead into. I can't remember the name of this because I got rid of the cardboard it was attached to. The "pen" is red with a yellow button on the end. The box has layer of white chalk then a small baggie that has the colored chalk in. You do have to use a damp cloth to get it off but I used this (even the dark blue color) on white cloth. It came off and you didn't even see that I had used anything for marking.

what kind of markers would you use on light fabric? Chalk doesnt always show up on those.

I use blue chalk on light fabrics.

I also have some of the thicker markers that came out recently in blue and pink. The marks from the markers don't last as long as the chalk does. Otherwise, they're fine.

I haven't used any of my pencils in ages because they require too much pressure.

where would I get these markers your talking about? I agree about the pencils. They are hard.