While the information about the freezer is interesting, I can't remember the last time I put a quilt in the freezer for any reason.

And, if you are using the pen to draw around a template, I would think that would wind up being cut off or on the edge of a seam allowance.

If the temp really has to be 14 degrees to revive, the wash water would have to be frozen, so I guess that's not too much of a problem, either.

I'd still like to try them.

I think the freezer test sounded funny too, who would worry about that? Nice to know just reironing the mark would make it disappear again, or even washing out the quilt once you finish it, which alot of quilters do anyway, would remove it. So, I for one, see no problem using these pens & plan to give mine a try.... Even the guy at Staples, who led us to them, when he asked what we were looking for, when I told what I wanted to use them for, understand totally, & being they are eraseable, could understand why they would work great...

You really did the homework on these. Thank you.

Appreciate the info. Thanks.

Thanks for your exp. ... I wondered about these when I first read about them, are they really trustworthy for our fabrics - and since the ink is still "there" - is it archival-quality ink?

Yes....so don't take it to the Antarctic or to Death Valley in summer and it will be OK, if the results of the tests are true. So, once it disappears with the ironing, it won't reappear unless it gets below 14 deg F.

Actually, all the marking pens that disappear with air or water are probably "still there", you just can't see it any more.

I think the issue is not so much whether someone will put their quilt in the freezer, but the fact that the ink stays in the quilt.

If it's not acid-free, the ink could cause damage that we won't know about until a couple of years down the road.

I tried 8 colors of pens and (I think) six colors of highlighter and all of them do come back when exposed to cold. (and of course, quilts shipped in the winter time DO get exposed to temperatures cold enough to make the markings visible again)

It would be a little embarrassing to mark your whole quilt top for FMQ and press out the markings only to have it show up at your sister's house in Idaho covered with the markings for quilting. ;)

But, the markings all washed out of white fabric with a quick hand-wash and didn't return after they were pressed dry and put back in the freezer. I scribbled pretty heavily with the pens, so I'm not concerned that the much fainter lines that I use for markings will come back.

I wash my quilts when they're finished so I'm sure they'll be fine.

Just wanted to report that I did the same test as above with the same results. I used the black gel ink and the pink, orange and yellow highlighters in my test on several different cotton fabrics. They have been in and out of the freezer several times now and I can see no trace of them on my fabrics. I've decided to test one piece of each of the fabrics before I cut and sew and if the ink washes out I'll go ahead and use them to mark my quilts before quilting them. Don't you love new technology?!!

Rose L

Well, I use the blue water erasable pens, but I soak the whole quilt in clear cold water, agitate, then spin before washing with detergent. No pen residue in my quilt. That concerns me. I think as long as you wash it without using heat and it comes out, the pens should be fine. But if you wash it and then try the freezer test and it shows up, not a good thing.

Interesting