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Fabric Marking Tools
Therearemanydifferenttypesofmarkingtoolsthatyoucanuseonfabric.
Theoneyouchoosewilldependonthetypesofmarksyouneedtomakeandthecolourofthefabriconwhichyouare
marking.
Hereareafewofmyfavouritechoices.
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NOTE:Alwaystrymarkingtoolsoutonascrapoffabricbeforecommitting
touseitonanentireproject,justtobesureitwillactuallyeraseandnot
leaveamarkonthefabric.
SoapSlivers
Recyclingisthetrendandyoucandolotsofthisinquiltingandsewing.
Here’sonewaytorecyclethosetinysoapsliversthatareleftoverfroma
barofsoap:useavegetablepeelertosharpentheedgesandusethemto
makemarksonfabric.
Youmayhavetogooverthemarksafewtimestoseethemandsoap
sliversworkbestondarkerfabrics.Youmayfindithardtoseemarksdrawn
onlighterfabrics.
Removaliseasyandyoucanusuallyjustbrushorgentyrubthemarks
away.
SoapsliversareInexpensiveandthereisalwaysareadysupply,plusthey
smellnice!
ChalkMarkers
Chalkmarkershavebeenaroundforalongtime.Themarksbrushoffeasily
andcomeinavarietyofcolourssoyoucanfindonethatwillshowupon
anyfabric.Whilechalkmarkscaneasilybeerased,thedisadvantageisthat
theymaycomeoffbeforeyouwantthemto!Thesetypesofmarkerswork
verywellformarkingquilttopswithstencils.Thesemarkersare
inexpensiveandyoucanfindtheminmostfabricandquiltshops.
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QuiltChalk/Pounce
Thisisatwo-partproduct:aholderorpouncerandthechalkthatyouneed
toperiodicallyrefillthatgoesinsidetheholder.Pounceisusedformarking
quiltstencilsandyouactuallyrubit,ratherthanpounceit,onthestencil.It
canbeabitmessy,butchalkiseasytobrushoffifyougetitinplacesyou
don’twant.Thisalsomeansthatmarksmadewithpouncemaycomeoff
soonerthanyouwish.
Quiltchalkisavailableinseveralcoloursandisespeciallygoodforuseon
darkfabrics.
Toremovethemarks,youjustneedtoruborironthemoffthefabric.
Youcanbuytheholder(aone-timepurchase)andthequiltchalk(a
periodicpurchase)atmostquiltstores.
Theinitialholderismoreexpensivethanothermarkingtools,butasyou
onlyneedtobuyitonce,usingquiltchalkisaneconomicalwayofmarking
quiltstencils.
MiracleChalkChubbyCrayon
Thisproductischalkinapencilform.Itcanbesharpenedwithapencil
sharpener,justlikearealpencilsoyoucangetthetipthatyouneedto
markyourfabrics.Itcomesinawhitecolourandworksbestwithdark
fabrics.Toremovethemarksyoujustironitoffusingsteam.
MiracleChalkChubbyCrayonisinexpensiveandcanbepurchasedatmost
quiltshops.
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WaterSolubleMarkers
Thesemarkersleaveeasytoseemarksonmostfabrics,althoughitmaynot
beyourbestchoicefordarkfabricsasthepensareusuallyblue.Water
solublemarkerserasewithwater.Besuretothoroughlysaturatethefabric
toerasethesemarks.
Marksmadewiththesemarkerssetwithheat,sokeepmarkedfabricsaway
fromyouriron.
Watersolublemarkersareinexpensiveandeasytofindinmostfabricand
quiltshops.
AirErasablePens
Marksmadewithairerasablepenswilldisappearovertime,usuallyby48
hours,sothesetypesofpensareappropriateforshort-termmarksonly.
Keepthisinmindifyouwanttouseanairerasablepenonyourproject.
Don’tputheatonthesemarksortheywillset.
Thesepensareavailableinpurpleorbluecolours,whichshowupwellon
mostfabrics,althoughmarksmaybedifficulttoseeondarkfabrics.
AirErasablepensareinexpensiveandeasytofindinmostfabricandquilt
shops.
PilotFrixionPens
MarksmadewithFrixionpensdisappearwithheat,sodon’tuseonany
fabricsthatneedpressing.You’llwanttopressyourfabricsfirst,letthem
cool,andthenmarkyourfabricwithaFrixionpen.
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Marksmayreappearwithcold,sobecarefulabouttheprojectonwhich
youuseaFrixionpen.
Frixionpenscomeinavarietyofcoloursandtipsizessoyoucanchoosethe
appropriatecolourthatwillshowuponjustaboutanyfabric.
Frixionpensaremoreexpensivethanwaterorairerasablepensandcanbe
moredifficulttofindinfabricstores,butcanbefoundinstationarystores.
CeramicLeadPencils
Ceramicleadpencilsaregreatformarkingonfabric.Theyproducethe
thinnestlinesofthemarkingproductsI’vealreadycovered.Thesepencils
areusuallyrefillablewithleadsavailableinavarietyofcolourssothey’ll
workonanycolouroffabric.
Thesepencilsmakeeasytoseelinesandstayonfabricuntilbrushedoffor
erased.
Whileceramicleadpencilsarealittlemoreexpensivethanotherfabric
markers,theyareeasytofindinmostfabricandquiltshops.
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Remembertokeepinmindhowlongyouwantthemarks
toremain,howeasytoseeyouneedthemtobe,andtheeaseof
removal,whenchoosingtheappropriatemarkingtool.
Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutmarkingtoolselectionor
otherquiltingrelatedtopics,pleasesendthemto:
