Today’s technique is all about the various pens and pencils available for marking darts, placement lines etc on fashion fabric.
I thought it would be a neat experiment to try out various marking tools I had available and their washability.
Here are the candidates:
1. Blue water soluble marker
2. 2B lead pencil
3. Clover “Chocoliner” in grey
4. Clover water soluble pencil in pink
5. Dressmaker’s pencil in pink
6. Tailor’s chalk – various colours
1. BurdaStyle tracing carbon
2. Vintage Simplicity tracing carbon
I took a scrap of quilting cotton and made 8 squares. I divided each in half and called one ‘pressed’ and one half ‘not pressed’. This is because often pressing marks can set them so they don’t come out in the wash. I made equal number of marks on each side and then put them through a cold water wash on a normal cycle. I didn’t use detergent because I’ve heard that some can prevent marks from coming out (although I don’t know if that’s true or not). I hung them to dry for 1 hour on the line out of the sun. Here’s the before and after shots
Blue water soluble marker – BEFORE
**pressing seemed to change the colour of the mark from blue to grey and faded it somewhat
Blue water soluble marker – AFTER
2B lead pencil – BEFORE
2B Lead Pencil – AFTER
**Unsurprisingly, washing didn’t remove the pencil and it looked the same
Clover “Chocoliner” in Grey – BEFORE
Clover “Chocoliner” in Grey – AFTER
**Marks still visible after washing, slightly more so on the pressed side
Clover Water Soluble Pencil in Pink – BEFORE
Clover Water Soluble Pencil in Pink – AFTER
**Marks were undetectible
Dressmaker’s Pencil in Pink – BEFORE
Dressmaker’s Pencil in Pink – AFTER
**Although they don’t show up on the photo, very faint marks were detectable on both the pressed and not pressed sides
Tailor’s Chalk – Various Colours
Tailor’s Chalk Various Colours – AFTER
**Marks still visible on the pressed side, but less so on the not pressed side. Interestingly, the yellow seems to be the strongest.
BurdaStyle Tracing Carbon – Various Colours – BEFORE
BurdaStyle Tracing Carbon Various Colours – AFTER
**Marks still clearly visible, more so on the pressed side
Vintage Simplicity Tracing Carbon – BEFORE
**Pressing significantly intensified the colour even before washing
Vintage Simplicity Tracing Carbon – AFTER
**Again, marks were still visible, but much stronger on the pressed side
So, what can we conclude?
1. Blue water soluble marker and the Clover water soluble pencils washed out the best
2. Chalk doesn’t fully wash out with water
3. Pressing intensifies and sets tracing carbon
Hope you enjoyed my little experiment!
Tell us what your favourite marking tool is!
Relax and Enjoy,
Kat
That was great. I usually use chalk or my double tracing wheels and tracing paper.
Thanks, fabric experiments are the best experiments! I usually use chalk too, that’s why I was surprised it didn’t come out very well.
I use the blue water soluble pen for marking. I love the waxed paper for marking but only on muslins as I am dubious about it’s ability to disappear on fasion fabric. I do a lot of tailor tacks but they are a bugger to pick out afterwards especially if they get caught in the seam.
Hi Gill! I haven’t tried tailor’s tacks yet…must do that. I have a nice wool coming up for a jacket, so will try tailors tacks on that..thanks for the suggestion and comment! Basting is like that too…the more accurate you sew the more difficult your life is picking the buggers out!
I really need to find different solutions to marking. It’s hard to find carbon paper here, chalk paper is more prevalent. I’ve never had trouble with the carbon disappearing on fabrics. But, I hate when I use the little wheel and I shred my patterns especially ones I use a lot. I’ve been known to use sharpies too. But only on lining material or when it won’t be seen. Honest.
I’ve heard the “Chaconer” is really good – Susan Khalje sells it on her website. Psst…I use Sharpies too, but don’t tell!
Great experiment an documentation! I love pens…though they can fade quickly, depending on fabric, except for purple. I find the Chaco wheels are ok if brushed away before pressing. I don’t really like leaving marks on fabric…tend to thread trace and use tailor tacks when unsure..time consuming but I just go into Zen mode…:-)
I really need to use more tailor’s tacks…I hate leaving marks too. I’m debating on what to use on my silk blouse…any suggestions?
Definitely use tailor tacks…with some of that glorious silk basting thread
Ooooooooooo….good idea!!! Will try it on some scraps when I get home today. Thanks for the suggestion
Very interesting, thanks! Although I’m now wondering how I’m going to remove the chalk from my current project! (Marked the right side by mistake, doh!)
Yeah, I was a bit surprised at that myself. Remember I didn’t use detergent, so maybe it’ll come out in the normal wash or perhaps try to more ‘aggressively’ spot treat it!
I like how scientific this experiment was. : ) I usually use either a Clover blue soluble pen (for light-colored fabrics) or a Clover white marking pen (for dark-colored fabrics) that disappears under the iron. I’ll use a regular pencil for marking things in the seam allowances, where I don’t care whether the marks come out or not. It would be nice to have one type of marking that worked well on all fabrics! Thanks for sharing your results with us!
Thanks! Yeah, I instinctively do everything in 3′s
Glad you liked…I too am in search for the perfect pencil…and am leaning towards the Clover water soluble pencil, but it is hard to sharpen. I’ve heard the Chaconer is great but haven’t bought it yet (have to buy it online).
The clover pens are my absolute favourite but I also use a clutch pencil with changeable coloured leads, they are about 2mm thick, very handy. I saw someone using them once on Project Runway so they must be good! Haha
Thanks for the tip!
Interesting experiment! Too bad you didn’t include another sample washed with detergent. I bet a lot of the marks would have come out better, especially the ones with wax in them. Personally I usually use a white or blue Chaco Liner and have never noticed it after a regular laundering. I also like a sliver of soap on darker fabrics.
Hi Louisa!
I think you’re right about the detergent. Come to think of it, I still have the swatches so I should run them through the wash with detergent. Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve got a blue chaco liner that I use a lot (too much). I find that sometimes the marks disappear by themselves just from handling the fabric so much well before I’d like them to disappear – on the other hand, some marks that I would certainly like to disappear on the right side of the fabric keep on keeping on, even after going through the wash with detergent. By now I should know this but I still make the mistake of marking on the right side sometimes.
Hi Tigergirl and thanks for your comment! I think it might depend a lot on the fabric you’re using too as to how easily your markings come of when you do and don’t want them too. Good idea to test on a scrap first, but I hardly do!
i use a Bible highlighter unless i’m not going to wash the garment. these are like a soft colored pencil . i use tailer’s tacks for my dry-clean garments.
Huh, never heard of a Bible highlighter before. Does it wash out well?