pennyswings

I have always wanted to try the quilt pounce but was never sure how messy it was or if it was worth the investment.
I have used both washable ink and disappearing ink pens and have success with both but the best technique I tried was one my sister told me about. I made a Christmas quilt this year and had a very intricate quilt design, made for a long arm quilter, that I wanted to do both on the squares and on the borders. I do not have a long arm quilter, I use my standard sewing machine to do all my own quilting. I did not think that using the pens would be very successful as it is hard to transfer a more detailed design. She told me to make copies of my designs and then cut them out and apply them to the quilt using either spray adhesive or masking tape. I choose the masking tape then sewed through the paper over the design. I used the regular printer paper, she uses tracing paper, to do the copies of the designs. Using this technique I was able to really center my design, I did not find that any paper went through into my machine (however I was careful not to sew over the masking tape because I was afraid that would.) The only drawback I found was because the design had some very small areas, like on the snow flakes, that it took a little time to pick out the smaller pieces of paper that remained on the quilt after pulling the paper off. You do have to be gentle pulling off the paper so you don't pull out the stitches. I liked the technique and would use it again.
Just a footnote, my sister just brought a used long arm quilter with a lazer and cruise control. I am going to visit her at the end of April and bringing a tablerunner to quilt onto. I can't wait. She says it was never used because the woman said she could not see the lazer and my sister made a real steal buying it. When she brought it home she realized that the reason the woman could not see the lazer marker was because she had it installed backwards. My sister paid $1,200.00 for the long arm quilter and it came with the Pffaf long arm quilting machine. I could not believe it!!!! I am so happy for her, she deserves it. but I am also sooooooo jealous, and told her so, LOL :wink:

kkbrand

Wish we could all find deals like that!

julroc

I have the pounce but you need to make sure that you don't use too much and just use it as you go. One way you can use it is to use the foam brush instead of the pounce that way you can control the amount of chalk. I like the chalk that disappears with a little steam.

mrs. fitz

kkbrand asked about Marking Magic; I also purchased it but it's still just sitting there and if anyone has had experience with it, I'd appreciate knowing how you liked it (or didn't). Count me as another who is negative on the Pounce. I just can't "get it".

wishiwerequilting

i'm going to chime in here because I have used all of these items...the pounce, the washable markers and the spray. I like them all, but don't use the same thing all the time. I don't think any of them are appropriate if you want to mark an entire quilt top and have it stay marked until you are done. For that reason, I sandwich my quilt and mark sections as I go.
I'm going to attach a pounce marked placemat. I think you can see the markings beautifully with white chalk on a darker print. On some of the lighter patches, i went in and filled in with a blue wash out so i could machine quilt easily.
I am doing FM quilting on a DSM. The trick to using the pounce is to really get that cloth filled with chalk. So I like to leave the cover on (and I even put it in a plastic bag to keep it from puffing out) and I bag it several times on the counter to get that chalk flowing. Then all you need to do is to wipe it back and forth over your stencil and it is marked. it does work. You have to experiment a bit with it until you get the hang of it. Read the directions carefully.

I personally love water soluble pens for marking and when I was hand quilting, I used that regularly. I like the collins brand. Make sure to use the water soluble and not air soluble or your lines may disappear. if you live in a very humid climate, the lines can disappear too. Don't leave marked items near heat, sun, irons, etc, as all of the above can set the markings. And only rinse with cold water, not soapy water.
These pens show up best on lighter fabrics, whereas the chalk (at least in white) shows up best on darker fabrics. it takes a bit longer to use a stencil and mark every opening with a washout, but you can fill in the gaps and make your markings quite precise.
And if you are marking without a stencil with a free hand design, like feathers filling in a spot or even stippling, this is great.

Lastly is the spray. Very quick, great markings. comes in gray or white. Disadvantages are a bit of a smell when you spray it (almost like spray paint), it does spray your stencil so you have to wash the stencil off after each spray session, and it does create a chalk dust for me in my machine, which means i am dusting out my bobbin case fairly regularly when I use this. But it is fast and the markings are very clear.

As far as cost, the spray is probably the most costly, but if i am in a hurry, I am willing to pay for convenience. (and I am always in a hurry!) Pounce pads seem to last a good while, so probably with a large bag of chalk refill, very economical. Pens are not very expensive but they do dry out, and you have to buy fresh ones pretty regularly. So don't stock up with 10 if they are on sale. Buy a few and then a few more.

There are other chalk pencils out there for marking which are also good. Chalkoline pen style. Very nice.

With all chalk products, if you are trying to mark an entire quilt and then start in on the quilting, I think you will find they will rub off and you are better off marking in sections as you are ready to quilt, IMO.

jemcnutt

Have been quilting and machine embroidering for a long time. I use the blue wash away markers from Walmart - They're cheap and easily accessable. BUT . . . any suggestions for marking dark fabrics?

SewExtremeSeams

Thank yo for your explanation of how to use this product. I purchased the set but have not used it yet.

SewExtremeSeams

What a great idea! And inexpensive! Thanks for sharing.

SewExtremeSeams

When I purchased this pounce product, I emailed the creator. She was very friendly and informative. When I finally use the product I plan to continue to contact her if I have problems with it. She did share that you have to pound it a lot, at first, to get it filled with the powder. After that there is not the heavy pounding requirement. Maybe she has a great product and 'we' need to master the technique.

:oops:

Aunt Doggie

Yeesh! I bought one and had the chalk stuff ALL OVER the place!! Was soooo messy!
Maybe I am just a Klutz, but I will try other methods from now on!!
Good luck to you if you buy one!