When I first dreamed up this post, I decided I would find the ONE marker that would do it all. So I set out looking at all the different markers out there. I use my markers mostly for tracing my pattern pieces onto my fabric, but I also use them for marking my centres and placements of straps, plus various other (often temporary) marks I need to make. I looked at what I already used and liked. I also looked at what I did and didn’t like about the ones I already used.  I was thrilled when Nulagh from Stitch in the Ditch offered to send me her best selling markers to include in my review!

I love the Pilot Frixion Colors markers! They have a felt tip and I find they write equally well on fleece, foam and cotton. They erase with a quick iron. The downsides are that I find they dry up really quickly, and they don’t erase properly on all fabrics, sometimes leaving behind a white line – yikes! I also use Paper Mate Replay erasable pen, and it writes really well on foam, cotton, and interfacing, but not so great on fleece, as the fine point seems to snag and catch on the fleece. This pen also vanishes with heat, but the white line from the Frixion markers has me leery of heat erasable pens.

I’ve also tried air erasable markers, and I found they vanished too quickly, or not quickly enough, and they dried out quickly too. I just didn’t like the inconsistency and overall unreliability of them.

Nulagh from Stitch in the Ditch sent me: Clover Chaco Liner Pen in yellow, Fons & Porter Fabric Mechanical Pencil, and the Clover White Marking pen. I also picked up a Hera Marker from my local quilt shop. Did you know that a Hera Marker isn’t a marker at all? I didn’t…and after I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t marking anything I spent some time online and discovered it really just makes creases, which makes a lot more sense. I know, you’re probably laughing at me, and that’s ok, because I laughed at myself too. The package it came in said it leaves a light mark that “vanishes with a quick iron” so maybe you can understand where my confusion came from. Anyway, I tried it and I think it’s probably more suitable for quilting and marking quilting lines, but I found in bag making, that the creases or “marks” didn’t stay on long on enough through all the handling and I would have to remark my spot or line.

I tried them all out for over a one month period while sewing mostly bags. I wanted to see how they are in a real setting. I thought about setting up sample strips of fabrics and seeing how the marks would hold up, but I thought it would be better if I just started using them, and that way I’d truly see what I liked.

I was skeptical about this one – it seemed kind of like a gimmick to me. I must admit though, I liked it right away! Because the chalk sits on top of the fabric, the yellow works on dark fabrics really well, unlike a yellow marker, which wouldn’t be seen at all. The applicator has a small wheel at the tip to dispense the powdered chalk, so it writes really well on fleece and foam. The yellow shows up on the lighter coloured fabrics as well, making it pretty well rounded in terms of fabric colour. I did find it sometimes hard to get all the chalk off though, so I’m not sure I’d trust it to mark lines in places of my fabric that will be seen on the finished project.  After a month of using it, it’s still going strong too, which is more than I can say for my Frixion markers. You can also get refills, making it an affordable option instead of buying a whole new pen all over again.

This pencil surprised me the most! I wasn’t expecting to like it and was surprised Nulagh said this one of her best selling markers. It shows up so well though! It writes nicely on fabric, and even vinyl. It actually erases too! The pencil has an eraser at the other end, and you can use it to erase lines you don’t need anymore. I expected the eraser to make my fabric loosen its weave, or not erase fully, but it left no trace! The lead in my pencil is white, but you can also get a dark lead for it, which would work on light fabrics. After using this one, I’m thinking I will order one just to have for both light and dark fabrics. I never tried it on my interfacings or stabilizers, because the white wouldn’t show up anyway. I would definitely trust this marker for areas that will be visible on a finished project. In addition to erasing, you can wash out the marks. The pencil comes with 10 leads, and in the month I used it, I haven’t had to replace the lead yet, so even though this pencil seems pricier than other markers, I think it has a high value.

Okay, I’m not even sure how to be diplomatic about this one. “It’s not you, it’s me” “Can we still be friends?” or “I’m seeing someone else” all come to mind. I tried and tried and tried to like this pen, but I just couldn’t. I tried it on dark fabric and I could see that the ink was coming out: it looked like it was leaving a wet line, so I could see the line momentarily, but then it dried, and poof…nothing! I tried scribbling on some scraps, waited a bit, still nothing. I did note the next day that I could see the lines I had scribbled on my scraps – nice fine white lines! Soooo, if you have time to wait the next day for your lines to show up, then this is the marker for you! I really wondered about this, and it bugged me, so back to the internet I went. I discovered I am not the only one with this problem. I will say however, that for every person who hated this pen, was someone else who seemed to love it, although I’m not sure why.

Well, I’ve discovered that, for me, there isn’t one marker that does it all. I also discovered that I’m alright with that.  Once I got used to the markers, I knew which one to grab for each occasion, so I didn’t have to waste any time trying the wrong one first. I will say I use the Chaco Liner the most for tracing, but the other 2 I use for accuracy or smoother lines. Now I keep my PaperMate, my Chaco Liner, and my Fons & Porter all within reach. Here’s a little chart I made of my results:

Special thanks to Stitch in the Ditch for sending me these to try out and share my experiences with you all. Check out their online shop. The markers I reviewed are on sale right now, and a little birdie told me there’s another sale right around the corner!