On the MARK

Julie Bonnar from The Pattern Pages discusses 4 ways to transfer pattern markings to fabric

When you sew any garment, you’ll need to temporarily mark the placement of things like closures, darts, pockets and notches from your sewing pattern. This is an important step and needs to be accurate to get a perfect fit. There are lots of different marking tools on the market so which one should you choose?

CHALK

Chalk markers come in the form of a pencil, wheel or in a flat piece of chalk known as tailor’s chalk. Your sewing machine probably arrived with a standard chalk pencil and brush but there are lots of different colours and sizes available.

Tailor’s chalk comes in a variety of colours and has been used in the tailoring businesses for years.

A chalk wheel is easy to hold and delivers an accurate fine line of chalk powder. It’s more ergonomically shaped and ideal for left and right-handers. I really like the Prym chalk stick, which you can get a pack to refill it.

Pros: Chalk is a less risky option as it will fade and brush away easily on all fabrics (which is sometimes a disadvantage too) Cons: It can easily break if dropped, and most types you will need to sharpen regularly.

CARBON PAPER AND TRACING WHEEL

This is a more traditional way of transferring markings to fabric. It’s a bit fiddly to use – you need to place the carbon paper face down on your fabric, lay the pattern on top, and use the tracing wheel to trace the lines onto the fabric.

Pros: You can mark both sides of the fabric at once, which is an advantage for transferring things like darts. It’s good for transferring longer pattern lines to fabric before cutting.

Cons: The carbon paper can smudge onto your fabric when holding it in place with your hands. You do need to apply quite a lot of pressure so the lines are not faint, so it works better on thinner fabrics. Curves can be tricky to transfer and the chalk can drag slightly on the fabric.

PENS

There are a wide range of pens from water soluble ones that remove by washing in soapy water, and disappearing/vanishing/air-dry pens where marks disappear after 48 hours (these usually come in a violet colour).

Pros: Vanishing pens are good for fabrics that are not suitable for washing. Most pen types come in different tip thicknesses. A pen rolls easily, doesn’t drag on fabric, comes in a variety of colours, and never needs sharpening. Cons: Pens can dry out quickly if not stored correctly, and need replacing regularly.

TAILOR’S TACKS

These tiny little stitches are made up of loose looped hand sewn stitches that are sewn through your patterns onto the fabric.

Pros: This is a really safe way to mark delicate/light-coloured fabrics. Again you can mark both sides of fabric at once, and they can be sewn through tissue patterns easily. Cons: It takes longer to sew these and the thread can pull out of fabric when handling, and can be more difficult to sew on thicker weight patterns too.

MARKING TIPS

☒ Always test your pencil/pen/chalk on a scrap of the fabric before starting your project to see how it reacts and how easy it is to remove.

☒ Test out a few different marking tools to see which one you prefer and which one is more accurate for the job.

☒ Use light-coloured marking tools on dark fabrics and darker-coloured tools on light fabrics.

View more marking tools here https://hantex.page.link/mt