Yes, they mark on fabric, have a variety of colors and nib sizes and do not dry out too fast. But will they really disappear?
The Frixion pens I have purchaced have a rubber tipped end, to use as an eraser, the idea being the ink disappears with the friction of rubbing (hence:Frixion, get it?). Since friction causes heat, heat should also cause the ink to disappear, thus yet another use for the iron. BUT: will the ink come back if the quilt gets cold?
I know, I've been snarky with this question before (who stores quilts in the freezer?), but upon reflection, this needs to be answered. If you enter quilt shows, sell and/or ship quilts, they are exposed to temperature extremes during shipping. The unpressurized hold of an airplane gets mighty chilly.
So, to see for myself, I performed an experiment.
Using 4" squsres of Kona cotton, I labeled my trials (using a standard, permanent Sharpie), both Starched & Unstarched. See, I had heard (somewhere, but I can't. remember where) that starching first will prevent the ink from reappearing. Then, I marked each with my Frixion pens: black, blue and orange.
Then I ironed. With steam.
And stored in my freezer for a couple of hours.
Finally, I washed my samples, in the washer with Tide detergent.
Results?: yes, the iron removes, but yes, the cold causes reappearance. Washing helps the ink fade, but I still see a faint trace in all three colors.
Will I use my Frixion pens to mark my quilts? Just my practice stuff. Any thought or experiences to share?
9 comments:
Eeep! I had no idea. I know a local quilt teacher who encourages the use of Frixion pens. I wonder if she knows about this!
Great blog and experiment! Thanks for sharing!
The chemistry of the Frixion is such that the ink merely becomes translucent-it will always be there. Wish it were not true!
Thank you for testing that! I've been wondering how it would work.
Thanks Kelly. Great job.
I marked a small wall hanging (white fabric) with a black Frixion pen once and had to scrap it because I used a Sharpie to mark the words and I didn't like the look. Thought I could iron the fabric and reuse it for some other project. The black was gone, but you could still see a 'snail trail' of sorts where the marks had been. Probably would have been ok if there was a quilted line over it, but it really stood out on blank fabric
Very good post. I have friends who have used the pens on batiks and have also had residual marks after ironing. They said they were very faint, but there nonetheless.
I have one of those pens, but I don't ever use it. I live in a cold climate and quilts do travel in car trunks at subzero temps. I don't want more chemicals on my fabrics either. thanks for sharing your results.
Thanks for sharing your experiment, I had no idea! I have had the experience of using (don't remember the color) on a black shirt to mark for embroidery and after ironing, it had a faint line leftover that you could see if you look at it carefully YIKES!
I still use them, but tend to use on the back of my fabric for marking half triangles etc, less likely to have problems with them.
:)
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