Embroidery :: FriXion Pens
You’ve probably heard about these by now, but just in case you haven’t, let me introduce you to the FriXion pen. I first heard about them last summer when my friend Rhonda sent me one. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but am now sold!
If you have heard of these pens, you may also know that the marks do reappear when the item gets cold, I’ve tested this myself. However, it also seems that they wash away, according to Rhonda’s test results. I have been meaning to conduct my own test…and I’ll update this post when I get to it!
I’ve been using them more and more lately, and I love how they have a thinner, more bold line than my water soluble pen.
Have you tried the FriXion pens? What are your thoughts?
I love them! I used mine just yesterday when quilting a baby quilt. I was echo quilting around a star that had a lot of points and wanted to make sure I changed direction in the right place. I used my FriXion pen to draw lines extending from each star point. Perfect quilting! And when I was done, I pulled out my iron and all the marks were gone. Love it!
I love them too. Great for tracing embroidery designs onto fabric but watch your light box does not get too hot or all your work can disappear. There are also new FriXion fine texta’s which I have just bought but haven’t had time to test yet. I am sure this is not the purpose Pilot put them out there for but I am sure they are happy the ladies with the fabric and threads have found them as they are probably one of their best sellers now 🙂
I don’t think I would use these – have seen several testings and you never fully remove them. And I would be afraid of the long term effect on the fabrics and thread with the chemicals.
I love these pens…but only for white fabric! I marked a quilt with them, because it was midnight and I ran out of my water soluble marker, and it left a thin white line behind. So I only use them for embroidery, which is fine – it makes tracing designs so much easier!
I have a pack of them, but I have not yet opened it.
I got some after your mentioned them in a post. They work great for me. I did see a few other blogs that showed they do leave white lines on dark fabric, though–good to know that!
There is also a lot of agreement that washing does, indeed, eliminate the return of the ink when the fabric is cold. That cold, btw, has been that the experimenter put the test piece in the freezer in every case. That level of cold is almost never going to be an issue with most quilt or embroidery work.
If one is making something that may well not be washed for an extended period of time after making it, I’d seriously consider how the chemicals in the ink might affect the piece in the long term. Time will tell, but I’d rather it not be my heirloom piece. Wait a minute–I’m never gonna make one of those. Well, for those of you creating stuff that might be in the category of “too nice to even wash” projects, this may be a consideration.
I just got done making a baby quilt using the blue pen to mark on Kona white fabric. I was just amazed to see the lines disappear with a hot iron. I was skeptical at first about trying something new on a gift, but I’m convinced. I will, of course, wash the quilt before giving it just to make sure all chemical residue is gone before a baby snuggles it.
Hallie
Funny you should mention these little babies. I am just getting ready to head back to the lab with them. I have found a small “issue” that I want to test out. I will let you know when the experiment is done.
I love these pens. Use them all the time, especially for embroidery.
You are the first person I have seen mention these pens. I don’t think they are something I will try as I like my selection of water soluble pens, Micron, and even pencils from time to time.
I’ve never heard of these. This is fantastic. Have you used them in marking lines in quilting, sewing? I’ve used a special pencil, but sometimes it’s hard to work with. This looks so much easier 😉 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
After reading of people having problems with these pens I did my own test. After ironing then washing the only lines that came back were the ones using extreme pressure.
I guess I am still going to be cautious – anything that says “it will come back” for whatever reason, does not belong on my quilt and I just do not want to take the chance. Maybe in ten years there will be enough research to convince me, but not yet. There are other options for me to use, so I cannot get on this band wagon as they are not for me. Thank you for your review. Judy C
I love them…use them all the time for drawing the diagonal lines on squares to make HSTs but I haven’t used them yet to transfer embroidery patterns.
I use them for embroidery and love them… but I also made something fun for my niece… I made her and her friends little cloth “notebooks” that they write in to eachother… they iron them (with supervision) and exchange… put them in the freezer and voila! A fun secret notebook 🙂
I love these pens! I heard about them from one of these blogs and found them at Staples for less than $5 for 3 pens – red, blue & black – they were on a great sale! I have had so much fun playing with them I almost forgot why I bought them. They work exactly as they are supposed to — however, I did not put anything in the freezer to see if it comes back.
This is very timely for me! I had not heard of these pens, but am just getting back to embroidery and will definitely give them a try. It’s nice to hear the different opinions, but I guess I just need to see how it works for me!
Betsy