Katherine's Kreationz

Marking Your Fabric

Why Should You Mark Your Fabric?

There are many different reasons for marking your fabric.  Beginners or those without a quarter inch foot will want to mark the sewing line to assist with maintaining a quarter inch seam.  It is a good idea to mark both the sewing lines and cutting line when making half square or quarter square triangles.  It’s also a good idea to trace the design you are using onto your fabric when free motion quilting.  The easiest way to do this is to use a stencil and draw your design through the stencil right onto your quilt top.  It is best to do this before the quilt is layered, but it is also possible to draw the design onto a layered quilt.  

Types of Markers

There are many different mediums for marking your fabric.  These include:

  • Chalk
  • Soap
  • Disappearing Ink Markers, also called Air Erasable Markers
  • Erasable Markers
  • Heat Erasable Markers
  • Water Soluble Markers
  • Permanent Markers

With disappearing ink, it is air that makes the marks disappear and the marks you spent time making will be gone within twenty-four hours.  If this is a project you aren’t going to finish in twenty-four hours, this is not the marker to use.  I don’t recommend using the disappearing ink marker because you may spend time diligently marking your fabric, then life happens, and you aren’t able to finish your project before the ink disappeared.  

When making half square or quarter square triangles, I recommend using the erasable markers for marking the cutting line and sewing lines. I use the Sew-Line Duo Marker and eraser, and highly recommend it.  It is sold in a package that looks like two pens, but one is the marking pen and the other is the eraser.  They are available at most quilt shops.    

The marks you make with heat erasable markers disappear with heat, usually from your iron.  The problem with these markers is the marks sometimes come back once they reach a normal temperature, or sometimes they come back after laundering.  There are issues with using heat erasable markers and I would recommend testing it on scrap fabric before using it.      

Water soluble are usually a better choice than disappearing ink markers because the markings will stay put until you use water to get rid of them.   The way to make these marks disappear is to gently wipe them away with a damp cloth or sponge.  The problem is if the marks go through to the batting, the marks may reappear after washing.    To make sure the marks won’t reappear, the entire piece should be immersed in water.  These pens should not be used on fabric that is dry clean only.   

Testing the Marker

Whatever marking tool you decide to use, you will want to test it on a scrap piece of your fabric before doing any marking.  Here are hints on how to test your fabric before doing any marking on it:

  • When using soap or chalk, take a piece of your scrap fabric and make sure you can brush away or rub off the soap or chalk marks.
  • When using a disappearing ink marker or an erasable marker, mark a piece of the scrap fabric and wait for the mark to disappear.  Wash and dry the piece of scrap fabric.  Look at the fabric to be sure the marks didn’t come back.  Also iron the piece of fabric to make sure high heat doesn’t make the marks reappear.  Follow these same procedures if you are using an erasable marker.
  • If you are using a heat erasable marker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to make the marks disappear.  After that, wash and dry the scrap fabric to see if the marks reappear.  This may sound strange, but put the fabric in the freezer to see if the cold makes the marks return.  Sometimes heat makes the marks disappear, but cold makes them reappear.  This is a necessary step if the quilt is going to be used in a cold climate.  
  • If you are using water soluble markers, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, using a piece of scrap fabric, to make sure the marks disappear because water soluble markers may not work on all fabric types.  It is also a good idea to wash, dry, and press your scrap fabric to make sure the marks aren’t going to reappear.  Usually the directions state to dab the marks with a damp cloth to make them disappear.  This will work, but if the marks went through to the batting, they could reappear. Therefore, it is important to immerse the quilt in water to make the marks disappear instead of just dabbing the marks with a damp cloth.
  • Permanent markers should only be used on the wrong side of the fabric and make sure the marks don’t show through to the right side of the fabric.  
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