rob529

Hey guys, we have some misunderstanding about the Frixion gel pens. When you use them on fabric you do not use the tip on the end of the pen to erase the lines. You just touch the marks with a hot dry iron and they disappear immediately. It is amazing. Don't miss out on using them they are great.

Robin in Brownwood TX

Rose L

Hi Robin, I'm kinda new here and these pens are new to me. Can you tell me what 'mm' thinkness the writing tips are? I'm always looking for a better way to mark my quilt tops. These sound interesting!

Thanks

thepolyparrot

The pens are very fine - like any other fine-point roller ball pen. The highlighters are just like any other chisel-point highlighters. I got the highlighters because sometimes on a busy print, just darkening the fabric slightly with a light blue disappearing ink will work better to mark the fabric than a pencil or pen. I don't know if the highlighters work like that, yet.

I haven't tried all of mine yet, but I do know that they do disappear instantly when you press them with an iron. I read somewhere that they come back if you put them in the freezer, but I haven't tested that.

woody

The packet I have doesn't actually say what mm they are but they are like a regular ball point pen.
Just be aware that the marks do reappear if it gets really cold (below freezing)
So far they seem to work great.

azwendyg

Thanks for clearing up how to "erase" them; I was thinking it was way too much work to erase them with the end of the pen! I'll have to experiment with them some more.

It's interesting that they may reappear when exposed to really cold temps. I can't help but wonder WHAT they are made of.

Texasjunebug

http://officesupplygeek.com/pen-revi...e-gel-ink-pen/

I had not heard of these pens - been looking for a better fabric market. The link is a review of the pens, and answers one question I had. They say that if the marks are exposed to "cold" the marks will reappear. Fading out while sitting in a hot car could be a problem in Texas! But, will they return in the winter? I don't have hot water to do laundry with in the winter - sometimes it's 36 degrees! Maybe I better keep looking for a better marker for quilting!

rob529

Can you tell me what 'mm' thinkness the writing tips are?
Temps that ink reappears?

The Frixion pen tips are 0.7mm

The ink reappears at temps at 14 F.

jetpens.com carry a set of 24 for $46 and some change. Some really neat colors. I'm a junkie for pens and stuff. Love office supply stores.

Robin in Brownwood TX

thepolyparrot

I tested 8 colors of the Frixion pens and 5 colors of the Frixion highlighters.

With the pens, I had to scribble pretty hard to get lines on a white-on-white print fabric. They disappeared instantly when I ironed them.

The highlighters left a white mark when they were ironed, with a trace of color. All the marks came back strong when I put them in the freezer.

But, all the marks disappeared completely with just a few seconds of hand-washing in cold water with a little Dawn dish soap.

Next, the Crayola washable markers.

thepolyparrot

Well, I don't think I'd use the Crayola washable markers to mark a quilt, especially a very light colored one.

I tested 8 colors and ironed half of the test strip to see if heat makes them more permanent. Washing by hand in cold water, *most* of the color came out but there are definite blobs of color left even after a pretty vigorous scrubbing.

Ironing didn't seem to make any difference. Orange and purple washed away the best and red and blue stayed the most.

rob529

I never got To marking with the Crayola washables. I didn't like the fat
tips. Not a worry now. Thanks for the research.
Robin in TX