Fabric Marking Tools

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1 Fabric Marking Tools There are many different types of marking tools that you can use on fabric. The one you choose will depend on the types of marks you need to make and the colour of the fabric on which you are marking. Here are a few of my favourite choices. Chatterbox Quilts

2 NOTE: Always try marking tools out on a scrap of fabric before committing to use it on an entire project, just to be sure it will actually erase and not leave a mark on the fabric. Soap Slivers Recycling is the trend and you can do lots of this in quilting and sewing. Here s one way to recycle those tiny soap slivers that are left over from a bar of soap: use a vegetable peeler to sharpen the edges and use them to make marks on fabric. You may have to go over the marks a few times to see them and soap slivers work best on darker fabrics. You may find it hard to see marks drawn on lighter fabrics. Removal is easy and you can usually just brush or genty rub the marks away. Soap slivers are Inexpensive and there is always a ready supply, plus they smell nice! Chalk Markers Chalk markers have been around for a long time. The marks brush off easily and come in a variety of colours so you can find one that will show up on any fabric. While chalk marks can easily be erased, the disadvantage is that they may come off before you want them to! These types of markers work very well for marking quilt tops with stencils. These markers are inexpensive and you can find them in most fabric and quilt shops. Chatterbox Quilts

3 Quilt Chalk/Pounce This is a two-part product: a holder or pouncer and the chalk that you need to periodically refill that goes inside the holder. Pounce is used for marking quilt stencils and you actually rub it, rather than pounce it, on the stencil. It can be a bit messy, but chalk is easy to brush off if you get it in places you don t want. This also means that marks made with pounce may come off sooner than you wish. Quilt chalk is available in several colours and is especially good for use on dark fabrics. To remove the marks, you just need to rub or iron them off the fabric. You can buy the holder (a one-time purchase) and the quilt chalk (a periodic purchase) at most quilt stores. The initial holder is more expensive than other marking tools, but as you only need to buy it once, using quilt chalk is an economical way of marking quilt stencils. Miracle Chalk Chubby Crayon This product is chalk in a pencil form. It can be sharpened with a pencil sharpener, just like a real pencil so you can get the tip that you need to mark your fabrics. It comes in a white colour and works best with dark fabrics. To remove the marks you just iron it off using steam. Miracle Chalk Chubby Crayon is inexpensive and can be purchased at most quilt shops. Chatterbox Quilts

4 Water Soluble Markers These markers leave easy to see marks on most fabrics, although it may not be your best choice for dark fabrics as the pens are usually blue. Water soluble markers erase with water. Be sure to thoroughly saturate the fabric to erase these marks. Marks made with these markers set with heat, so keep marked fabrics away from your iron. Water soluble markers are inexpensive and easy to find in most fabric and quilt shops. Air Erasable Pens Marks made with air erasable pens will disappear over time, usually by 48 hours, so these types of pens are appropriate for short-term marks only. Keep this in mind if you want to use an air erasable pen on your project. Don t put heat on these marks or they will set. These pens are available in purple or blue colours, which show up well on most fabrics, although marks may be difficult to see on dark fabrics. Air Erasable pens are inexpensive and easy to find in most fabric and quilt shops. Pilot Frixion Pens Marks made with Frixion pens disappear with heat, so don t use on any fabrics that need pressing. You ll want to press your fabrics first, let them cool, and then mark your fabric with a Frixion pen. Chatterbox Quilts

5 Marks may reappear with cold, so be careful about the project on which you use a Frixion pen. Frixion pens come in a variety of colours and tip sizes so you can choose the appropriate colour that will show up on just about any fabric. Frixion pens are more expensive than water or air erasable pens and can be more difficult to find in fabric stores, but can be found in stationary stores. Ceramic Lead Pencils Ceramic lead pencils are great for marking on fabric. They produce the thinnest lines of the marking products I ve already covered. These pencils are usually refillable with leads available in a variety of colours so they ll work on any colour of fabric. These pencils make easy to see lines and stay on fabric until brushed off or erased. While ceramic lead pencils are a little more expensive than other fabric markers, they are easy to find in most fabric and quilt shops. Chatterbox Quilts

6 Remember to keep in mind how long you want the marks to remain, how easy to see you need them to be, and the ease of removal, when choosing the appropriate marking tool. If you have any questions about marking tool selection or other quilting related topics, please send them to: Chatterbox Quilts