Marking stencils on your quilt

I've read through a post from last summer and found most who replied use the frixion pens for marking their quilt stencils. I ran across a website called fulllinestencil.com. I'm more inclined to use the pounce chalk marking method over the frixion and wondered if anyone out there uses that method and what do you think about it. Someone remarked in the other thread that there could be a negative side to this but didn't elaborate so I was wondering what you think and why you use the method you choose. Also, there was another method by Nancy's notions to use a stabilizer and mark it then quilt and remove the stabilizer but that looked like more work.

I use a refillable chalk pencil and trace a block just before quilting it. It has several colors so I use whatever will show up best. After the quilt is completed, I wash it and it all comes out. I use spray adhesive so I really need to wash it afterwards. That way if someone is sensitive to chemicals they won't have a problem with my quilts. I use All Free and Clear for a detergent.

I use frixion pens to mark with. Have never had an issue of them coming back after they got hot/cold. I love the convenience of iron it away. For black or navy I use pounce whit iron off,its messy and it makes me choke if too much chalk gets on but it does the job when I have to mark dark colors. Again the convenience of iron off is wonderful. I also always wash everything I make when its done, not because I use spray baste, I use pins , but because I want the dirt/lint that accumulates from working and handling a quilt off before giving. Also if any seams are weak I want to know before gifting.

I have been following comments on various marking methods because my next big project will be a whole cloth, queen size quilt. I have decided to use the Golden Threads quilting paper instead of doing any kind of marking. That way, I won't have deal with removal of marking lines after the quilting is finished. (And I really wasn't looking forward to having to mark that size of a quilt!)

For smaller area marking, I have used pounce and also the chalk pencils (Clover brand?) I also like two Sewline pencils - one is removed by erasing or by water, the second disappears after 2 - 10 days of air exposure.

There is some controversy over the use of frixion pens. Evidently heat, or friction, causes the markings to become transparent, but they are still there. Supposedly, extreme cold will eliminate that transparency, and the markings are again visible (and can again be made invisible by heating them). I have also heard concerns about the possibility that the chemical(s) in the pens may cause eventual damage to the fabric. I don't think they have been tested to any degree with fabric.

I saw a YouTube video about the Frixion pens. The girls said that if the temperature falls to 14° the marks will reappear. If the temperature falls to 14° inside my house I will have more to worry about than the marks on my quilts.

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Originally Posted by Sylvia H

I have been following comments on various marking methods because my next big project will be a whole cloth, queen size quilt. I have decided to use the Golden Threads quilting paper instead of doing any kind of marking. That way, I won't have deal with removal of marking lines after the quilting is finished. (And I really wasn't looking forward to having to mark that size of a quilt!)

For smaller area marking, I have used pounce and also the chalk pencils (Clover brand?) I also like two Sewline pencils - one is removed by erasing or by water, the second disappears after 2 - 10 days of air exposure.

There is some controversy over the use of frixion pens. Evidently heat, or friction, causes the markings to become transparent, but they are still there. Supposedly, extreme cold will eliminate that transparency, and the markings are again visible (and can again be made invisible by heating them). I have also heard concerns about the possibility that the chemical(s) in the pens may cause eventual damage to the fabric. I don't think they have been tested to any degree with fabric.

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I viewed the Golden Threads video and that looks like it would work for me rather than marking the whole quilt. I'm getting ready to quilt a large (queen size) Irish Chain and just really didn't want to do straight line or SID quilting. Thank you!

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Originally Posted by Texas Jean

I saw a YouTube video about the Frixion pens. The girls said that if the temperature falls to 14° the marks will reappear. If the temperature falls to 14° inside my house I will have more to worry about than the marks on my quilts.

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:icon_rofl: ...........

I tried a pounce and did not like it, lines were fuzzy and it was hard to keep the stencil in place during the process and seemed to be a lot of chalk dust flying around my sewing room. I now use either frixion pend or crayola washable markers.

With FMQ, I seldom use a stencil. I just wing it. If I use a marking pen, it is the blue one that washes out in cold water. I've never had a problem with it washing out. I've never used the pounce & chalk, although I saw it demo's at a quilt show. JCY

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Originally Posted by Texas Jean

I saw a YouTube video about the Frixion pens. The girls said that if the temperature falls to 14° the marks will reappear. If the temperature falls to 14° inside my house I will have more to worry about than the marks on my quilts.

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Definitely! However, if you were to mail out a gift quilt, or a charity quilt, in the dead of winter, those markings could easily be showing when the package arrived at its destination.

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Originally Posted by Sylvia H

Definitely! However, if you were to mail out a gift quilt, or a charity quilt, in the dead of winter, those markings could easily be showing when the package arrived at its destination.

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I understand that once you wash the quilt the gel from the pen is gone. Don't know that for a fact, I think I will experiment and see what happens.

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Originally Posted by Claire Hallman

I understand that once you wash the quilt the gel from the pen is gone. Don't know that for a fact, I think I will experiment and see what happens.

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I'll be interested in what you find. Never thought about sending out quilts in the winter. Would hate to have the recipient get a marked-up quilt!

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Originally Posted by Texas Jean

I saw a YouTube video about the Frixion pens. The girls said that if the temperature falls to 14° the marks will reappear. If the temperature falls to 14° inside my house I will have more to worry about than the marks on my quilts.

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Ha! Since I just live up I-45N from you I can totally agree!! Right about now we could use a few of those cooler degrees, don't you think?

BTW - a set of Frixion pens are on special this week at M*...

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Originally Posted by Tabbster

I'll be interested in what you find. Never thought about sending out quilts in the winter. Would hate to have the recipient get a marked-up quilt!

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Ever since the postal service has provided tracking numbers, I am surprised at some of the routes my packages take. I also wrap everything in plastic wrap or ziploc bags for more protection.

So, even if you are mailing from one warm climate to another, there is a chance that it will travel through a cold location.

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Originally Posted by Claire Hallman

I understand that once you wash the quilt the gel from the pen is gone. Don't know that for a fact, I think I will experiment and see what happens.

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And the results are: when I rubbed a quilt [that I recently marked, quilted and washed] with an ice block it did not bring the pen markings back. There was black background fabric in the quilt that was marked with the pen also, there were no light marks from the pen either.

Claire, I have used the Frixion pens quite freely and the ink is completely dissolved if you wash the quilt. Once washed, there is no chance of the marks "re-appearing". Hope that helps. (I have used these on everything from silk to cheap cotton)

All... The scientist in me prevails. I have recently tested both a Quilt Pounce AND the FriXion Pens within the last month.

My Results.
The quilt pounce was very messy to get started. However, once I was able to saturate my pounce with chalk, the rubbing over stencils on my quilt went very quickly and chalk stayed visible over a week to let me quilt it. The quilt was mounted in rack. If you were to quilt with a machine that would require a lot of movement and handling, I think the chalk marks would rub off to easily before finishing. I liked this (in the end) over pencil marking. It was definitely faster.

The FriXion pens are a remarkable product. I tested 8 colors, and all of the colors vanished from a light colored fabric when hit with a hot iron. However, when subjected to cold temperatures, the marks do re-appear, lighter than the original marking. Washing the fabric in a normal cotton cycle (warm wash cold rinse) does not get rid of the marks entirely, there is still evidence of colored markings.

IDEA. I do not think I will use the FriXion pens for marking my quilts. I think that a ghost line will be left behind. However, I do think they might be really fun for leaving a "Secret" message on the back of my quilts! I plan to sign them in FriXion ink!

Interesting that Claire and Love My Machines have differing results from their experiments. I still have to run a few tests of my own.

I have been using the Sewline air erasable marker on my grandson's quilt. I am liking it more and more. With these humid days, the markings don't even last a full day, so I have to make sure to quilt immediately after marking. The marks also can be removed with just water. The only downside is that it marks purple, and so it can't be seen on very dark fabrics.

I use the Chaco Chaulk things with a wheel. They are refillable. Mine is old though, they might not make them anymore. But mine has lasted forever. I even still have one refill left for it.

After using a black Crayola Washable marker on white fabric and leaving it sit for up to two weeks and having it all come out in the wash without issue, I'm sold. They are cheap, come in lots of colors and are available, even in the grocery store. AND they are cheap!! So far I don't see what the downside is. Is there something that I don't know about when using these??

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Originally Posted by Sylvia H

Interesting that Claire and Love My Machines have differing results from their experiments. I still have to run a few tests of my own.

I have been using the Sewline air erasable marker on my grandson's quilt. I am liking it more and more. With these humid days, the markings don't even last a full day, so I have to make sure to quilt immediately after marking. The marks also can be removed with just water. The only downside is that it marks purple, and so it can't be seen on very dark fabrics.

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It might be that I washed the quilt then tried to get the markings to appear using ice and she made the markings appear with cold and then tried to wash them out. Not sure what the difference is but I will continue to use them, it rarely gets that cold here to make a mark reappear anyway. I do always wash quilts other than wall hangings after completion. I don't do a whole lot of marking since it is so time consuming and I have trouble following marked lines, LOL.:D

I am old school. I use The General's chalk pencil from the Fat Quarter Shop. I have one blue and one white. Makes a nice crisp line that removes in the wash every time. I am curious about the Crayola markers. I hand quilt so sometimes it takes 9-10 months to quilt afyer the initial marking. Will Crayola marks still show that long? Will they still be removable after that long?

I have found that the frixion pens when used on white fabric does not go fully invisible. I had to replace some fabric pieces....I would not use for quilt marking. It's good for just marking cutting lines for piecing though. But the ink is still slightly visible on white/light fabric.

I read with interest all the comments about marking pens. I bought 2 blue Frixion pens at my LQS last week. So far I've been using them just for marking lines while making my hourglass blocks. After reading all this, I may not use them to mark a quilt top. In the past, I've used the blue Mark B Gone pens. That always washes out in cold water. It sounds like the jury is still out on the Frixion pens. JCY

What do you use for dark fabrics? I bought a white chalk pencil, but it broke after a line or two and I had to resharpen it again and again. I ended up with hardly any pencil left at all and my black quilt with hardly any markings. So I went and bought another one, same thing happened!
Do crayolas show up on dark fabrics? I'm not even sure I can get them around here...

For dark fabrics I have frixion highlighter in neon colors pink, yellow orange. If I still can't see I am forced to get out the white pounce which is iron off. Not my favorite method to messy with powder flying everywhere, and the lines are not crisp. But it works.

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Originally Posted by Iris Girl

For dark fabrics I have frixion highlighter in neon colors pink, yellow orange. If I still can't see I am forced to get out the white pounce which is iron off. Not my favorite method to messy with powder flying everywhere, and the lines are not crisp. But it works.

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According to the ads in various magazines and online, the Frixion NEON highlighters "ARE NOT MEANT FOR FABRIC". Don't know if that means they become permanent or maybe rot the fabric, but I'll take their word for it.

Crayons now makes Ultra Washable Markers, for anyone who is interested in trying them. I just bought a few boxes for my daughters classroom but I think I'll keep one and use them from now on! I think they were $1.97 at Walmart this week for a 10 pack.

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Originally Posted by Littlelisa

Crayons now makes Ultra Washable Markers, for anyone who is interested in trying them. I just bought a few boxes for my daughters classroom but I think I'll keep one and use them from now on! I think they were $1.97 at Walmart this week for a 10 pack.

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Oops, meant crayola.

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Originally Posted by Tabbster

According to the ads in various magazines and online, the Frixion NEON highlighters "ARE NOT MEANT FOR FABRIC". Don't know if that means they become permanent or maybe rot the fabric, but I'll take their word for it.

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They work fine for me I can see them on black and they iron off just like the regular frixion pens and I have never seen any marks or discolorations come back. Just checked my package and no where on it does it say not for fabric.

This blog and comments were informative on the use of these pens. It seems like there are so many different factors (prewashing, post washing, starch/sizing, type of fabric, steam, no steam, ironing before or after washing, etc.) that may affect the final results of using frixion pens. Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts: FriXion Pens ? Should You Use Them for Quilting?

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Originally Posted by Sylvia H

This blog and comments were informative on the use of these pens. It seems like there are so many different factors (prewashing, post washing, starch/sizing, type of fabric, steam, no steam, ironing before or after washing, etc.) that may affect the final results of using frixion pens. Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts: FriXion Pens ? Should You Use Them for Quilting?

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I still love my frixion pens. I have never had any issues no matter the color or type, I have used all colors black, blue, green , red orange , yellow and the neon highliters in pink, orange and yellow. They always iron off easily with or without steam. I wash my quilts and line dry them , have never seen any marks come back. I have not tried freezing a quilt , but if I am caught in a blizzard just me and my quilt ..who really cares if a line or 2 come back? since most my quilts stay in the house except for the car quilts no worries. I quilt for fun for family friends and donations, have never heard a negative word yet . so I will continue to use the frixion as they are by far the least messy and easiest to use and get rid of markings. I f I miss draw a line a shot with the iron lets me start over not OMG I need to wash it and its not bound what to do. I sometimes think people just look for reasons to say things that are different...me I go with the flow what ever it is it is. Maybe its the country girl in me or that fact I am not all that fussy its my funtime. enjoy1