Back in December, I signed up for Leah Day's Building Blocks Quilt Along. I signed up because I want to learn new piecing techniques, but most of all, I want to work on my FMQ skills. As an added bonus, through the BBQAL, I will learn how to use the Quilt As You Go method of assembling a quilt.
Most of the FMQ designs to be quilted on the blocks each week had to be marked however and I am not a huge fan of marking.
And this where the Frixion pens come in. I was shopping at a local craft store when I spotted them and decided to give them a try. My experience with marking designs had been limited to disappearing ink, which disappeared before I even finished the quilting, and the "wash out" ink which i used to mark half square triangles, but was a little worried about using on a quilt top.
I have to admit - I was a little skeptical at first. But these Frixion pens work like a charm!
Here is one of my squares all marked and ready for quilting. I am using a blue pen for this block and you can see there are a lot of marked lines.
Here is the block once the quilting was all done. You can see the marked lines are still very visible and quilting this block was super easy because of these clear, dark lines.
Once the block was all quilted, I turned on the iron and applied heat to the block for a few seconds... And just like magic, all the lines disappeared, leaving only the quilting! Some of my blocks were quilted weeks ago and the ink hasn't re-appeared on any of them.
I bought a package which includes 6 different colours, but I have only tried blue so far. Will let you know how the others do!
Have you tried the Frixion pens? Do you like working with them?
I would love to know! :-)
Izzy
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I've been looking for some good temporary marking pens, and I had passed over the frixion ones because it just didn't seem like they would work well. I guess I'll have to give them a try, now! :)
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me where you bought them? I live in Mirabel, Quebec.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I have two, but haven't used them yet. I've been really digging the hera marker for straight lines. It's pretty amazing how well that things works. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks so much for the review :-) I haven't tried these but I plan to. I've heard that if the quilt gets really cold the marks may return, but it you reiron them they will again disappear. This wouldn't bother me though. Possibly having to reiron seems like no big deal. I agree disappearing pens seem to disappear too fast!
ReplyDeleteI love love love Frixion pens. As a relatively new FMQer, I prefer having guidelines to follow. To erase the lines I use a low setting on the iron, and the marks disappear instantly and never come back.
ReplyDeleteI sent a quilt to relatives way up north last Christmas, and although the quilt sat in a delivery truck all day, the marks remained invisible. If your quilt sits in sub-zero temperatures for a day or so, faint marks MAY return, in which case a quick re-iron makes them go away.
Aren't they the best! I was introduced to them a while back and now use them every time I need to temporarily mark fabric. Blue, black and red all disappear with the touch of the iron.
ReplyDeleteI've been hesitant to try them even though I purchased one awhile ago, thanks for letting use know how they work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, I have always been skeptical of them but I am going to get some the next time I am at a craft store. Thanks (and wonderful FMQing by the way :)
ReplyDeleteThey work great. They marks do come back in the cold. We finished a quilt in December and took it outside for a photo session and some lines returned faintly. Once you wash it, that issue goes away tho. Although I bought mine at Creativ, my understanding is you can buy them at staples/bureau en gros.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I've never heard of these before but what a great idea.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I've never heard of these before but what a good idea.
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