Marking quilts- what do you use? I have always used a variety of products- pencils, pens, chalk pens, roller chalk… I think I have tried them all! Ok, not really since there are a gazillion marking gadgets out there. And what tool I used depended on what I was marking- sewing lines on the back of the fabric, quilting lines on the top of the quilt…
One of my favorites in the last few years is (was?) the Frixion pen. I loved it. I would mark, sew, then iron and the mark would disappear. I never had a problem. Then other quilters started telling about issues they had with the marks coming back or other such problems.
So I wondered: is it user error or is it the pen? Then I saw this. Jenny K Lyon, who has a blog called the Quilt Skipper, did a series of posts on the pens. Here is a link to her 4th post (and she hopes, her final one!). She has some really good information in there about using the pens. If you are using them, or plan to use them, you should read it.
Recently I have had to quilt a few of my quilts. Yikes! I don’t usually do that, especially since the incident with the magazine quilt, my sewing machine and the loss of a fingernail. Ouch. Since each project was under a very tight deadline, I planned to do mostly straight lines. I did not want to take the time to mark and then the time to get the marks out. And I did not want to use the edge of my presser foot- that would yield lines too close together. Too many lines! I did not have time for that!
Painter’s tape to the rescue! This worked out perfectly. I bought the tape in a few different size widths and I would lay the tape onto the quilt top and quilt along the edges. Then I could move the tape to a new spot. After a few lines, the tape would start to rip unless I was really careful but it worked like a charm.
So for quilting, my new favorite marking tool for the quilt top is the tape. A hera marker would work well for this type of marking too, I just can’t find mine right now. And the tape is really easy to see.
The Sewline pencil and the General’s pastel chalk pencil are back to being my go- to tools for marking sewing lines.
And, for me, the Frixion pens have been relegated back to use on paper- they are great for making notes on a pattern (for example Fabric A is red, fabric B is green…) and removing so the next time you can mark it with new information.
What marking tool is your favorite? Inquiring minds want to know!
Have a great weekend-
happy quilting,
Kate
I generally use Frixion pens for marking on the back of quilt pieces, indicating which piece it is “A”, “B”, etc. so I don’t worry about whether it comes out or not. I also use them to trace an embroidery design and don’t worry because I cover it up with stitching. I’m afraid I may have, once or twice, drawn something on the front of a quilt for a design and veered from it. Hope the owner doesn’t notice!
I did buy a pkg. of them from a Quilt Show and was disgusted to find that three of the six didn’t even write. Too expensive at quilt shows to get pens that are dried up or whatever. I will continue to use Frixion pens for the purposes I listed above.
Thanks for pointing out the research. It’s good to know.
Those are all good uses for the pen. As long as it is not an area where the marks could be seen again, that makes sense. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the information on the painter’s tape. Because I am trying to quilt my stash of tops on my home sewing machine, this information is very helpful. I have never used the Frixon pens because I feared the things that might happen and it appears they do. Very valuable comments and the information shared by Pilot.
Good luck with the painter’s tape; I hope it works for you! I am working on a quilt today and using it.
I was so excited reading all the wonderful comments about the Frixon pens myself and after about a month or so just could not take it and went and bought a set of my own. I was a tad disappointed when my black pen would not produce any more ink after marking only about 100 3″ half square triangles. Thankfully that is the only material I had the opportunity to use them on before I read an article (not sure the source) that said they were in no way designed for use on fabrics and the company did not recommend them at all for that use! They even quoted several quilters who had experienced disasters of having the marks appear at a National Quilt Show where they had been exposed to extreme temperature changes on their mailed journey. I am so glad that I did not ever have the chance to mark a quilt. I mainly do just straight line quilting with my walking foot, but occasionally will use a chalk pencil with great results. I have been reading a lot of tips and tutorials on using painters tape or masking tape to mark for quilting. That may be a method I explore with the quilt I am getting set up to quilt later on today. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful creative day!
I cannot imagine having the marks reappear- especially at a show! Yikes. When someone first mentioned that the marks would reappear if you put the quilt in the freezer, I thought that was an odd comment. But now it makes sense; if your quilt is being shipped, the cargo hold can get very cold!
For marking when I am piecing, I’ll use a pencil, pen or a Frixion pen. When I am marking the top of a quilt for quilting, I’ll use the blue water-erasable pens, the purple air-erasable pens and chalk. I wash every quilt before I give it away, so all the markings are gone.
I haven’t a blue water- erasable pen for a while. Maybe I will try one of them again!