Have you seen these pens for sale at your local quilt shop?

Well the first time I saw them and saw them demonstrated, my mouth dropped open and I had to have them. I didn’t care about the price.

What they are is a regular ink pen. They are made to write on paper. However the ink is erasable by friction.

So as with many other quilting notions, the community figured out that you can write on fabric with these babies. And because they erase by friction (friction creates heat), you can iron your markings and they disappear!

You heard right – mark your quilt with these and iron the markings away!

My quilt shop even bragged that it leaves nothing behind like those brown marks water soluble markers leave.

But not so fast

I brought them home and was curious about what I read on the back “If pen is exposed to temperature that reached 140 degrees F, the ink will be colorless when writing. To restore color, cool to at least 14 degrees F in freezer and the ink will again write in color.” What does this mean?

• Colorless does not mean gone
• Will the color come back?

So, I put it to the test. I wrote on some fabric and ironed it. Sure enough the color was gone. But when you looked closely you could see the ink residue. I threw the sample into the freezer. In a matter of a few seconds the color was back. This was not good.

I know what you are thinking “You’re not going to put your quilt in the freezer!” But you may use it in the cold – Isn’t there the chance you would snuggle up out int he cold with your quilt. So the sample went into the refrigerator – and the marks came back; not as dark, but definitely visible.

Word of Caution

I know that many quilt shops are selling these pens. It was something going around the latest Quilt Market. But I also know that many of them don’t know the limitations – even though it is stated on the package. So be aware. I wouldn’t mark my quilt top with them. But I may use them to mark applique or to mark the back of my fabric if the need arises.