By Susan Khalje
DIY-Do It Yourself Network I actually dreamed the other night about finding a new method of marking fabrics. I imagined something that would be easy to apply, would stay on the fabric as long as needed and then would be easy to remove. Does such an item exist? Well, at the moment, only in my imagination, but there are a number of products out there on which I do rely. Although the placement of much of the machine stitching we do is determined by the cut edges of the fabric, there are times when we need to mark other information: pocket placement, darts, buttons and buttonholes, fitting adjustments, hems and so on. I find that my marking methods vary as much as the circumstances. I often underline garments, so I'm usually safe in applying marks to the underlining, not the fashion fabric. I generally use waxed tracing paper (I avoid the new wax-free type -- its powdery residue goes everywhere), but I do have to be careful that my marks don't show through to the fashion fabric. It's a particular concern when working with white or off-white fabrics -- dark-colored tracings will show through, even when applied to an under layer. The trick is to use white or gray tracing paper, even though the marks can be a little difficult to see. A lot of dressmakers I know use tailor's tacks -- I've always been a little wary of them, fearful that they'll pull out of the fabric before they've done their work. It wouldn't be the end of the world to have to go back and reapply them, and they do have the advantage of being very gentle on the fashion fabric (and easy to remove once you're through with them). There are a variety of chalk markers -- the ones that roll along are fun to use, but I often find that the marks are so easily brushed off -- that they're gone before I've had a chance to do my stitching. I saw a dressmaker recently using an awl to mark the apex of her darts. She was careful to separate the threads of the fabric, not cut through them. The marks left by the awl lasted long enough for her to sew her darts, and once she'd pressed the fabric there was no trace of the marks she's made. It seemed like a fine method for firmly-woven, sturdy fabrics -- though I'd be reluctant to try it on delicate fabrics. A lot of sewers simply rely on snipping in the selvedge, which is reliable as long as the fabric doesn't fray. It's also of limited use -- not all the information we need can be contained in the selvedges. Disappearing pens are understandably popular, but I'm always a little reluctant to use them and I don't recommend them to my students. Obviously, chemicals are involved, and a residue, even if undetectable, is left on the fabric. I'd be concerned about what might happen over time - and there have been instances when marks I've made with a disappearing pen are difficult to remove, especially if the fabric has been pressed while the marks are still there. In one case, I recall marking a silk organza bodice -- for lace placement, I think -- and the marks never did come out. I wonder if the chemical in the ink reacted in some way with the dye I'd used; in any event, the marks were permanent. Some dressmakers like to use a sliver of soap -- I once tried it on silk taffeta and found that the soap left a residue. It might be fine for sturdier fabrics, but I'd test it carefully before trying it again. As always, the key is different methods for different circumstances, along with plenty of experimentation. Until then, I guess I'll just have to keep dreaming of the perfect way to mark fabric. (Susan Khalje is an author and host of DIY-Do It Yourself Network "Sew Much More" which airs weekdays at 2:00 P.M. ET. Contact her at skhalje@aol.com or Box 51 Long Green, MD 21092. For more information, visit www.SusanKhalje.com or www.diynet.com.)
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