Monday, March 28, 2011

Placemat Monday III - Bon Appétit


Here is my third placemat that I made for use at our upcoming quilt show. 

From one of the quilting bloggers that I follow, I discovered a neat new tool that I'll use for quilting from now on.   It's a gel pen with magic capabilities.   I bought a set of 2 of these Pilot Frixion pens for $5.00 at a local drug store.  They are available anywhere you can buy office supplies.  I checked on Staples.ca website, and they have them there but it says they are not in the retail stores.  I am hoping that it's just referring to the 6-pack.  

Here is how  used the FriXion pen.

I used the FriXion pen to mark where I wanted to quilt on my placemat.  I marked the entire placemat before I layered on the batting and backing.   So far the process is the same as last weeks placemat, when I used a pencil.

Then layer, and machine quilt your piece as usual. 


The great thing about this gel pen, is that after you have finished quilting on your fabric, you can make the marks totally disappear (almost instantly) with the passing of a hot iron over them.

Now, that's not the end of the story.   If for any reason, you need your marks to re-appear, simply put your fabric piece in the freezer. 

The marks will re-appear.  Make them disappear again with the hot iron.  To permanently remove the marks, you will lightly launder your piece with a mild soap. 

Here is the package of pens that I bought.  The pens are available in different colors.   I bought the black ones.  Later this week, I am going to do a couple of small mug mats as samples, and let the gel ink dry for a month or so before ironing and laundering, just to see what the result is.  Almost seems to good to be true, eh! 

A note to any of my quilting buddies in Canada ... Will you let me know if you find any FriXion Gel pens in any of the local office supply sections of stores.  If they are hard to find, I'll bring a supply back with me.


10 comments:

Karen said...

Hi, Gail: Your quilting looks terrific - as always! I've used washable gel pens from the $ store for many years with great success; you just need to make sure they are marked washable and not permanent. Hilroy also makes washable ones in neon colours which show up great. I've always washed the piece afterwards, so don't know if the marks would disappear with an iron though as they do with these Pilot pens. I've only seen FriXXion pens online at Staples so far, in the larger packs.

Linda H said...

I'll check at local Staples and Covey's this week Gail and let you know. Placemat looks grrreat!!

Marie B Lewis said...

I have been using Frixion pens (in the UK) for my Boutis quilting for a while. The easiest way to remove the marks is by simply using a hairdryer!

Incidentally, the marks will also return if you leave them in a very cold room. Certainly washing the article (which is necessary with Boutis) makes them disappear permanently.

I have them in many colours.
A famous Boutis expert in France, Hubert Valeri, who has a website and sells designs, told me he uses them and has done for a while. They leave no chemical deposits.

ancient one said...

Hey, thanks for coming by to see me... sorry that wasn't me you saw in SC.. wonder who is using my name on their license plate? You have fun in Myrtle Beach.

Wanda Maria said...

This sounds like a great pen. I'm going to have to try this. Thanks for the tip. :)

Anonymous said...

Coveys and Walmart both carry the pens in Fredericton. With Staples you have to order on line. They worked great on the quilt that I was just doing. Linda G

Joanne said...

Your quilting is fantastic!
Thanks for the tip on the pen - I am always looking for a great marking pen.♥

Quilt Rat said...

oh well I will certainly be on the look out for these.
Who doesn't LOVE a bit of magic?

Quilt Rat said...

Picked up a 2 pack of those pens today(Staples) .......I am AMAZED at how the ink disappears, I will definitely do some testing with these. Thanks for pointing these out....so COOL!!!!

Unknown said...

My sister just told me about the Frixion pen. Thank you for the detail information and your followers hints. I'm trying it out today.