Update: Frixion Pen Test and Wobbly Lines
I guess I am a bit of a researcher at heart. In my last post I expressed concern about how the heat erasable Frixion pens will “bloom” back when the quilt gets cold. I also was perplexed as to why my quilted lines were wobbly on my practice piece.
I received the following comment from Carol Cann, a talented Canadian quilter I met in my class with Diane Gaudynski in Paducah:
“…for those of us who live in a northern/cold climate, a quilt could get cold if put in a trunk and driven to a quilting event. There is also concern if a quilt is shipped to a quilting event during the colder months, not sure if postal trucks are heated in the cargo area. Some of the ladies in Canada who send their quilts to shows are concerned the pen marks may come back when shipped and possibly exposed to cold. That would be pretty embarrassing to be accepted into a show and then have the quilt turn up with all the marks “blooming” back onto the quilt.”
Wow, excellent point. Note too that the marks do disappear again upon warming.
It was also suggested that if you washed the piece, the marks would not bloom back. I HAD to test this. I did my own little Consumer Reports testing of that premise and found that yes indeed, if you wash the quilt, the markings will NOT bloom back anymore at all.
Great, except….the whole point for me was that I didn’t want to wash my art quilts! 
Also, beware that the Frixion pens leave bleached out looking marks on many fabrics as you can see here.
I do love the way the Frixion pens mark easily with a thin, very visible line-better than any other marking method. If I was going to wash my piece and if the pen did not leave marks on the project I was working, then the Frixion pens would be my go-to marking method.
To summarize:
- Frixion pens do “bloom” back and show marks if subjected to cold temps.
- Frixion pens leave a bleached looking mark on some fabrics. If you hit your marked line with stitching it won’t matter, but, if you change your mind or don’t hit your lines, you may see bleached looking marks all over your quilt.
- If you wash the quilt, the markings will not bloom back in the cold.
- BUT, if I was going to wash it, wouldn’t I have just used the blue wash out markers instead????
Marking is fraught with peril-there is no foolproof marker/method for marking your quilts, even ones you wash. I have a quilt on which I used the blue wash out marker-it left brown lines. I did everything correct in the use of the marker and the treatment of the quilt. Inexplicably, I have some staining. If you use a method that removes easily and is virtually guaranteed to not leave a mark-those marks sometimes leave before you’re done quilting! Other methods are just difficult to see and quilt.
That is why I prefer to work almost exclusively free hand, no stencils-rarely do I mark.
WOBBLY LINES
Also, I discovered that my wobbly lines were NOT a machine issue, but a fabric issue. 
The fabric I used here was a somewhat coarse cotton with a low thread count. As a result, when my needle hit one of those big ole fat threads, it would have to go left or right of that thread, thus creating the wobble. Shirley Hendrickson, The One Of Great Knowledge at Shared Stitches pointed that out to me.
Yes, of course I tested the theory! 
Here you see the same thread and needle used upon some luscious Rbt Kaufman Radiance and my stitches are much much better-it was indeed the fabric.
This is a great case for using high quality fabrics-always!
My feeling is that my marking pens all conspire to make us crazy. They sit in my drawer planning how best to thwart me next. I’ve found much of what you’ve said here. I have added a new four letter word to my list. The new word is Test.
I am relieved that someone with all of your experience agrees-sometimes it feels like it’s just me that these things happen to! The only reason I am so opinionated about the perils of marking is because of what I have experienced. If you find a good marking method, blog about it and let the whole world know! Yes, “test” is an important word!
Thanks so much for your follow up post Jenny! Testing is definitely a great idea and not a step to be skipped!
I’ve certainly learned to test the hard way!
What an interesting and informative entry. You’ve certainly done your homework. Thanks for so generously sharing your results!
xoxo
Thank you!
Makes me happy that I don’t do quilting that has to be marked. Avoidance is a very good solution to this problem!
What a nice way to say it-“avoidance”….
Some things still need to be marked, so more info is good. My problem always seems to be how to get the markings to stay on the quilt long enough to get through the quilting process!
Becky Z.
That’s what’s so vexing to me about marking-if the marks remove easily, well, they remove easily…before I want them to. If they stay around long enough to quilt it properly, they tend to stay forever. I still mark on occasion and try to use the best method for that particular project.
Another great lesson from Jenny! I love the markers for the type of sewing I do making garments, but would be very disappointed if I marking show up on a quilt. I will think twice before using them on silk or wool that I don’t plan to wash. What happens with dry cleaning?
Oh oh! That didn’t come out right!! “I would be very disappointed if my marking showed on a quilt.” It must be time to get away from the computer screen when I can’t write a coherent sentence. ;-)
Hmmm-dry cleaning? Sounds like another Consumer Reports test I need to do. Good thought Marcia!
Okay, so I’ve lived an utterly charmed life. I haven’t experienced the bloom issue you’ve discussed. I’m not using the brand you are though. And I do keep my marking to a minimum. I’ll do some testing (argh!) on my own. Thanks for the incredible lesson!
Things seem to happen to me that don’t happen to others…. But it would have to get cold to bloom-what, you say you haven’t frozen your quilts lately??
You aren’t alone Jenny, I have had all of the problems you mentioned with gel pens. I bought mine at Office Max which was very cost effective, but when I changed my mind about a design (something I do quite often) I had the whitish bleached line left after I ironed to erase. At least I had only drawn one line so far! I didn’t try washing the quilt to see if the white line disappeared after washing however. I’m pretty happy using the Sewline pencils for any marking that has to be done. I will add the caution, however, that I use only the yellow and white “leads” for the Sewline pencils because I’ve had trouble removing both the green and the pink if they were marked on white fabric. I haven’t tried the gray pencil-like colored leads though, have you or any of your readers tested them?
I generally don’t use pencils at all-just personal preference. Thanks for sharing your experience with these. I think the Frixion pens are great-just have to be used in specific situations. So many people are using them on everything and that’s my concern. I also think I need to do one more test-I hear now that they rebloom in cold again, even after washing! I haven’t tried the gray pencil like ones recently.
O M Gosh … http://www.pilotpen.us/FriXion.aspx …. hmmm, there happens to be some ‘fine print’ that goes with “How to Use a Pen” !! Who Knew ?? Darn, I was really looking forward to getting a few of these, really thought I had found The Thing! Thanks for your research, Jenny ! Saved me big money, I think. :)
Hmm … http://www.pilotpen.us/FriXion.aspx .. how about that, instructions on “How to Use a Pen” ! (see the VERY fine print at the bottom?) Who knew ?? Darn, I was soo looking forward to getting a few of these ~ really thought I had found The Thing. Thanks so much for your research Jenny .. I believe you saved me some Big Bucks! Keep up the good work :D
You’re welcome! The pens still are good if your quilt is just in your own home. And they don’t leave marks on all fabrics, just some. I wonder if the Pilot people are somewhat taken aback-I don’t think they intended this pen for use on quilts, us quilters just thought of it. Now they get this bad press over their pens being used in a way they never intended them to be used!
On the wiggly lines – if the stitching is being done on the grain of the fabric you won’t have wobbles. So – cut on grain if you can.
I’ll try that Helen-thanks!