2wheelwoman

I tried my Pounce and hated it. Same messy problems that others have reported. I mentioned this at my LQS, and they showed me some stencils that are specifically made for using the Pounce on them. They are similar to regular stencils that come from Joanns, etc., but have slightly different openings so the Pounce stays more in the lines where it's supposed to, rather than just being a pile of powder. I bought one of the "special" stencils, but haven't used it yet to know if it improved the Pouncing.

littlehud

I have two. One used blue chalk and one white. I like mine and use it often.

amma

On Fons and Porter a LAQ showed how she uses the pounce. She takes a slightly damp sponge and dampens the fabric, lays the stencil down, and then she uses a foam brush to apply the pounce chalk. She said she barely dips the brush into it, and just paints it on. A little goes a long way this way too. She got good coverage and it seemed to stay in place while she quilted the area too. There wasn't any chalk flying around and very little loose chalk left on top of the stencil when she was done.

jljack

At Road to California I went to the Pounce vendor with the same issues as most of you have...not enough chalk, unclear lines, etc. She showed me that you not only have to pound the heck out of the thing when it's new to get the chalk down in it, but the real secret is to rough up the surface of the pad with your fingernails, and then to shake it until the chalk "puffs" out when you hold it upside down and touch the surface with your finger. Did I make it clear? I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to when I next use an all over pattern to quilt. I also use the purple disappearing markers, and love those. Some disappear so fast I have to only mark a little ahead. Also got the big fat pencils and a special sharpener, and those work great, too.

BellaBoo

I bought regular chalk board chalk in white and different colors. The sticks of chalk will sharpen to a very sharp point in one of the plastic school pencil sharpeners. It works great for marking stencil patterns.

shaverg

I did the same thing, I could not get mine to work right either, but also have not tried it yet. The vendors make it look so great.

Rose Marie

I only use pounce with the mesh stencils and your pounce must have plenty of chalk into the pad. I also dampen my fabric before useing the pounce. You do not pounce with it, you just rub it across the stencil.
Most of the time I use disappearing ink pens or the washable Wonder Marker.

sewcrafty

I can't think of the name of it, but JoAnn's carries this. Its a washable marker. It marks in a light blue and washes totally out. Never had a problem. Did mom's hand applique & hand quilted quilt with it.

kkbrand

Well I think I have definately ruled myself right out of buying the pounce pad as I can see from all of the comments it is definately not user friendly! I did order a whole bunch of stencils and I got the purple disappearing ink pen

knlsmith

can u post a pic of it? im more of a visual person, sorry for the trouble