Today’s Topic: The Best Marking Tools for Quilts
Welcome to Week Fourteen of The Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
Find all of the previous Lessons HERE.
Sign up for emails of the class HERE.
Good Morning, Quilters!
Marking quilts can be frustrating.
You can tell this by the number of marking tools we all have stashed in our sewing room drawers.
We buy every pen, pencil and marker in quest of the Holy Grail of Markers…
I’ve come to the conclusion, the perfect marking tool does not exist, but I’ve found a few that come close…
The Requirements
To be a good quilt marker, a pen or pencil must be:
- Easy to See
- Easy to Erase
- Not dry out or break easily
- Reasonably Priced–(Though I would pay a lot for the perfect quilt marking tool)
No Thank You…
This excludes any pen or marker that:
The line is too faint to see while free motion quilting (hera and soapstone markers)
Dries out quickly (blue washout markers)
Breaks frequently (many pencil markers)
Is difficult to erase (blue washout markers, Frixion Pens, many pencils and anything with wax)
Put to The Test
My Bona Fides…For years, every time I stopped at a new quilt shop, I would head straight to the notions wall and purchase all of the marking tools. I would bring them home and put them to the test. (Think of me as the UL of markers, the Ralph Nader of pens, or the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval)
Very few markers–even those highly recommended by other quilters, passed my tests.
Need Two Sets of Marking Tools
One thing is clear, quilters need two marking tools, one for light colored fabrics and another for dark colored fabrics.
The Best Quilt Marking Pen for Medium to Dark Fabrics
My favorite marking tool for medium to dark fabric is white chalk in any form. White chalk is easy to see, erases with a wipe and never dries out. White chalk is the perfect quilting marking tool for dark fabrics!
I like to use the Dritz Chalk Cartridge (white only)
The Clover Chalk Wheel (white only)
or a white Tailor’s Chalk Triangle.
The Best Marking Pens for Light Fabrics
For a long time I still struggled to find the perfect marking pen for light colored quilt fabrics.
Then several readers of LKQ recommended Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers. So I decided to give them a try.
Read about my test of Ultra Clean Markers HERE.
Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers win the LKQ seal of approval!
Alway Test First!
If YOU don’t have a favorite marker, this list is a good place to start.
But don’t take my word for it…avoid the heartache so many of us have experienced!
ALWAYS test the markers on YOUR project!
As you test, consider that some marks may vanish when heat pressed, while other marks may be set when pressed with an iron!
Some markers require washing, while others can be whisked away (chalk).
Another Favorite
The Purple Air/Water Erase Pen is one other pen I use frequently. The purple marking pen disappears in a day or two (sometimes faster). I often keep it at my sewing machine and use it to mark spacing lines between motifs.
The Best Marking Tools for Quilts
The Dritz Chalk Cartridge (White Only)
Crayola Ultra Clean Washable Markers
YOUR Favorites?
What are YOUR favorite marking tools?
Have YOU had any problems with my favorite five? (Please share-so I can re-evaluate!)
Your Doctor of Quiltology,
Prof. Lori, QhD
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share (please do!) with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com! Thank you!
58 comments
Bonnie
Thank you so much for your in-depth article on how to mark and what the mark with.
Arvilla Trag
The Frixion ink disappeared EXCEPT for a white trace line that I have never noticed before reading this article. Aquarella markers appear to be permanent, despite being watercolor. The Crayola Totally Washable Markers would not come out, even with soap and water, all they did was bleed a little. Every fabric I have tested the Leonis pen on has no issues at all. It just disappears with a light spritz of water, no need to soak the quilt.
Arvilla Trag
Last night I did an experiment with the Crayola Completely Washable Markers, Frixion pens, Aquarella watercolor pens, and a Leonis marker. I needed to be 100% sure the marker would come out, because I was going to mark a white area of an HST pattern. Results: Crayola Completely Washable Marker (green) would not come out of the fabric, and barely even smudged with any amount of water; Frixion pens left a trace white mark after ironing on the white fabric and on some dark pink I was using for a practice sandwich; Aquarella would not leave the fabric; and the Leonis marker just vanished when I lightly sprayed it with water.
I looked up the Leonis markers on line and they come in other colors, too. The 5-packs were the most reasonable priced.
Barb E.
How did the others come out?
Lori Kennedy Quilts
Thank you Arvilla for your results! Very interesting!
Shirley Sylvester
Put it in dryer as had already pre-tested.Worked on the test 1st time.
Marta
Never tried colored chalks, only white but it would not come out. How did you remove it, by the way? Thanks…
Erin Dennis
I hand quilted for 20 years, then took up quilting on the sewing machine. I think I have tried every marking utensil created. I use a #2 pencil for marking designs for light fabric like we did in the “old days”. If its marked lightly, and it has to be a #2, no problem coming out. If you mark a heavy pencil line, have had trouble coming out. I like white chalk for darker fabrics. Two of the more inexpensive things on the market, and they work the best for me.
Barbara Clinton
I use a vacuum to first remove chalk marks then wipe, wash or whatever. When I use water to remove marks I place a towel on the top surface as my carpet cleaner told me stains dry on the top surface. So my marks adhere to the towel, not my quilt. I have successfully used resolve carpet cleaner to remove marks, massaging to a foam which I wipe off as it lifts the stain and rinse til clear, then add towel to dry. A weight to make sure there is contact with fabric helps
gilda bryant
Thank you for the wonderful ideas, and tips!
Eleanor
Be careful using Frixion pens. Just one batik on my collage quilt is permanently marked! I didn’t test on every fabric first.
Emerson1
Thanks for the tip!
denveremerson1
Thank you for this! I had to laugh when I saw your collection of marking pens. I thought at first that it was a picture of my collection! Air markers–NO! My tailor’s chalk–NO! Must have wax in them because they don’t come out. Yellow Clover chalk wheel–NO! Doesn’t come out Grrr! I love my Friction pens and have never had a problem with them. But I am going to try the Dritz white chalk cartridge. Thank you again for your “lab testing”! I enjoy your articles so much! Keep em’ coming!
Erin Dennis
I had diffuculty removing the blue chalk. White was fine.
vivian383
I love my frixxon pens too ! The only problem with these pens that I have is that mine seem to dry out too fast! I know they leave a clear residue on fabric but for me this is not a problem. On dark fabrics, I end up with the Clover chalk wheels. Many thanks to the readers who mentioned the hand soap slivers, I will try that out next on dark fabrics.
Patty
I’ve been waiting for this list! 😁
Katherine K Tucker
I have not had any problems with the frixon pens and love how fine they are. I always test on the fabric–the red sometimes doesn’t come out with a quick press but when that happened I found one of the other colors worked. I don’t have a good solution for dark fabrics, though, so I will look at some you suggest.
Mary Appel
I’m glad to hear others have good luck with frixon pens. Always test first but love the fine line it makes.
Marta
Me too. Love my frixxion pens. I have been using them exclusively for 6-7 years now… no problems.
Alice Rhodes
I found these inexpensive heat erasible marking pens about 2 months ago, and I’m very happy with them. Just apply heat with an iron to erase the mark. They work very well so far! The marks show on fabric clearly.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086QPRG87/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pam Treiber
Thanks for the testing. I came up with the same ones but had not tried the crayola Ultras so I will pick some up and try them on some lights. Thanks.
OHSue
I used Clover yellow chalk pen to mark a quilting design. The color remained everywhere that the needle pierced the fabric sandwich. Several washings and it is now a ‘design element’.
Vicki
I had the yellow chalk remain behind on white fabric as well. It seems to be fine on other colours.
Kathie Banks
My go to for light fabric is the Fons & Porter ceramic chalk pencil. I love the thin line. It comes out with pre-moistened wipes. Since the wipes shortages in recent months, I’ve used wash clothes and spray and wash to get it out. If I don’t want to rub at my stitches, I wait until the piece is completed and pretreat with spray & wash and then run it through the washer. My go to for dark fabrics is slivers of bar soap. It always presses and/or washes out. If I had colored soap in my house, I’d try that on light fabrics too.
Joan
I love the Fons and Porter ceramic chalk pencils too but had two pencils quit working for me. They are not cheap so I wondered if the lead would work with any 0.9 mm mechanical pencil. I bought a pack of Bic Velocity mechanical pencils and the lead woks fine in them. I have already used them longer than the Fons and Porter pencils and they were so much cheaper!
Gwyned
What a great tip to put Fons and Porter chalk leads into a Bic Velocity mechanical pencil. I LOVE the line I get with F & P, but find changing the lead a pain.
Linda Quilts
In the art supply aisle, I find General’s Sketch N Wash to use on light fabrics. And General’s chalk pencil for dark fabric. Both make a clearly visible line. Both wash out beautifully.
Linda Quilts
And I forgot to mention that the General’s pencils stay on the fabric until you remove it, unlike some chalk pencils 🙂 As you can tell, I love these pencils.
Suzanne
I like the Crayola washable pens too, except for the orange, it doesn’t wash out well. But the blue, purple, and red are great. Their only drawback is they aren’t fine points. I’m going to buy some of the gel type and see how they work for me. For dark fabrics I like the Sewline fine-line chalk pen. It makes a super thin line that holds up well and it washes out easily. I’m going to try Joan Heard’s soap sliver idea too, it’s a great way to use up soap, it’s thrifty, and I know for certain that it will wash out! I have used tailor’s chalk in the past, but it was some I’d had for YEARS and had wax in it – not making that mistake again!
I’ve not heard of Golden Treads paper, would someone please fill me in? Thanks!
worldpresscom986
Just a funny note: My Sis-in-law, with 6 children, always said ORANGE Kool-aid stains the worst. Red is easier to remove.
I bought three pencils long ago. I use the pink or blue on light fabric and the white on dark.
.
Mary Honas
https://www.goldenthreads.com/shop/product/golden-threads-quilting-paper-12/ It comes in different widths. I like the 12″ best.
Jo Baner
I like the chalk that comes off with an iron. My favorite is miracle chalk which is sold as a powder to fill the Pounce applicator. While that is great for stencils, I like to also use it in the Clover wheel. I don’t like the chalk that comes in the Clover wheel, so I dump it out, clean and dry it well and then fill it with miracle chalk. Makes a great thin line on everything except white fabrics. I just bought the washable Crayola markers and am anxious to try them on light fabric. Thanks for that, Lori!
Cheri
Air erase pens didn’t work for me as they were gone before I got them to the sewing machine! So onto frisson pens, I really loved them, til I read the box and it states “not for use on fabric”! So I used both lead and white lead pencils, which leave a very fine mark,
Really liked them until suddenly my eyes changed and I couldn’t see them! Oh dear, now what! So I went to and am staying with the blue water soluble blue pen and on occasion the ultra washable markers. A person can spray the blue pen marks to get them to disappear, however with the ultra washable pens I actually need to put the piece/quilt in the washer, not a big deal, but something to consider. Glad you are back Lori!
Judy S
I use the Frixion pens all the time and haven’t had a problem with them. I’ve heard that for some people, the lines reappeared when the fabric was exposed to very cold weather. That isn’t a concern for me here in California.
Marta
Today while using my frixion pens, I was thinking about our discussion here. I realized that 95% of my use of them is to specify a cutting line. I cut on that line and the danger of fabric someday disintegrating becomes a non-issue. Actually, I can’t remember when I used them
to sew alongside. However, I was unaware that the chemical remains in the fabric and I am glad to know that now. Thank you, Linda.
Linda Quilts
The issue is that the chemicals from the ink remain in the fabric, whether you can see it or not. Those chemicals weaken the fabric and can cause it to deteriorate along the marking lines before the rest of the fabric. Just some food for thought 🙂
Betty Jo Tatum
I do a lot of marker testing too, and have come up with just the same markers. I would add to that something I discovered recently the Crayola Washable Gel pens. These mark on the more difficult textures like washable polyester satin with only a modest spread. The washable markers tend to spread out a lot on satin weaves. I had to wash it twice after having it in the fabric for a year, but it came out just fine. Thanks for this article. It is great.
Louise
Hi Lori & quilters. I use mostly clover blue water soluble pens & clover white chalk wheel If I need an intricate design I use Golden Threads paper!
Deborah Nash
I love Golden Threads paper for intricate motifs even though it does require some tweezer removal where stitches change direction. Word of caution though to be sure your tracing on the paper is not done with dark, soft lead/graphite pencil as the needle will drag some of the marking into the fabric. The tip of rubbing across the stitching with the back of a spoon or scissor handle makes tearing away the paper easier.
Cyndy
I sew thru the golden paper, with no thread. Instant stencil. You can stack up about 20 at a time to sew thru them
Joan Heard
I sometimes use tiny slivers of hand soap the ones that are too small for their intended purpose on dark fabrics. The marks disappear easy with heat or water.
Jeanette
This has been my go to for a while. Hard to keep it sharp enough but works great on dark fabric. I tired chalk and couldn’t get rid of it. Going to try the markers and see how they do.
Kathie Banks
Joan, I always use soap slivers on darks, The marks always iron away and wash away. No worries there!
Linda Quilts
I do this, too. Works great and it’s recycling at it’s finest 🙂
Suzanne
Dang! That’s a clever idea – I’m going to try it. Thanks!
Vicki Steffe
I use chalk markers also, but sometimes have trouble removing the chalk. Do you have any pointers?
Marta
I will never use my chalk again after an experience last Spring. I expected the chalk to brush off. It did not. I used many things to try to remove it. The thing that finally took 75% away was Mr; Clean dry erase. Maybe mine had the wax in it that is mentioned above. Best wishes with yours!
Shirley Sylvester
The purple air erase markers re-
appeared on a pure linen wearable top l made years ago,after several years.My hunch is the heat from the dryer,but not sure.
Hope this helps someone else before they destroy a $50 pce of fabric + at least that many hours of machine embroidery!
Am enjoying your series on FMQ.You do a fabulous job,Thank You.
LAURIE B
Shirley why would you put pure linen in the dryer?
Robbie
I put my hand knit linen sweater in the dryer all the time.
kathleen b
So glad you are back…and, marking tools…just in the nik of time!
piecefulwendy
Does tailor’s chalk have a shelf life, do you know? I still have some of my grandmother’s! I’ll have to do a test, perhaps!
Cyndy
take the edge of a scissor blade, and scrape the edge to a nice point, it will be like brand new
piecefulwendy
Thanks!
Lori Kennedy Quilts
I think old Tailor’s chalk is fine–just be careful because some Tailor’s chalk has wax in it. So test first!
piecefulwendy
Thank you!
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