Thanks for the tips and the links Rosemary I knew you would not let me down , this sounds a lot less messy that trying to quilt through Paper templates .

Sandpaper - got that one sorted out already , templates to quilt around by machine, used them for sewing a Weardale chain variation on my Sottt's quilt, they don't slip and are really easy to move down as you go (it helps if you have clear pointers of where to place them )
Here is a couple of links to previous discussions about it
[url]forum/i-need-quilting-related-advice/5322-making-quilt-templates[/url]
[url]forum/hand-and-machine-quilting/5494-what-to-put-on-your-quilt[/url]


As for using cuttlefish, that is what Miss Fraser at the RSN told us it could be made out of, I think because it doesn't clog up the pricked holes so quickly as chalk.

Rosmary you are so inventive you made me laugh at the thought of you grinding up cuttlefish, then I remembered my Budgie (Joey) dying when I was about 10 years
Old, my how I cried he was on the bottom of his cage feet in the air I had forgotton that memory till now . Bet you know how to do something clever with the sandpaper
sheets you used to put into the bottom of the cages as well, only teasing you . I gasped when you said Quink Ink as well .

Years ago, I made my own pounce powder from ground down cuttle fish (as sold for budgies), The pad is made from a strip of woollen fabric which I folded in half and then rolled & tied. For dark colours of pounce it was suggested to use ground down charcoal (or mixed 50/50) , since I didn't want to go & buy the charcoal I mixed some of my cuttlefish powder with some blue (Quink) fountain pen ink and let it dry before breaking it down again. These worked just fine for when I was at the RSN. Otherwise you can use powdered chalk - I am creating my own because I use tailors chalk for marking fabrics in dressmaking/tailoring and to be accurate you have to sharpen the edge of the chalk to a fine edge, which I do into a small tin, rather than chucking it all over ther floor near the rubbish bin.

I have both the white and blue pounce powder. One is supposed to be iron off, but I am not sure which one. I just use an old scrap of batting and brush it off. I only have one pounce pad, so the blue powder is in a pill bottle with another scrap of batting rubber banded to the top. It works great, especially since I only use it on a small area at a time. I really like the pounce powder, and have had no problem with harming my machine.

I have this kind

http://fulllinestencil.com/Ultimate_Quilt_Pounce.htm

I think there are others out there but this one is easy to get off fabric & is supposed to stay on. I don't know about that, I just mark small sections at a time, since I rattle the quilt a lot, not having a long-arm.

You can use cinnamon on light fabric. I haven't noticed it getting through the fabric to the machine, but I've never used tons and clean up afterwards. This is a newly re-found tool in my sewing room after taking Cindy Needham's Craftsy class.

What kind of chalk is used in a pounce pad? Does it ever cause damage/corrosion to a sewing machine? I have never used it but would like to give it a try but not if it does damage to the machine.

Are you rubbing the pounce pad on the smooth or rough side? It should be the rough side. Don't do a big section at a time, on some fabrics, it will wear off.

And if you don't happen to have a foam paint brush, I seem to remember someone in a video using a washcloth. Just dab it in the chalk, which can just be in a ziploc bag, then swipe it over the stencil as Margo suggests. It seems like the foam brush would work better for controlling the amount of chalk, but this is an alternative if you don't have one handy.

Nancy

Also...if you are using either the foam brush, or the pounce pad, it works better if you rub the chalk into the holes instead of trying to "pounce" or pat to transfer the marks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHXoitox02E

I saw a technique in a Craftsy class where a foam painting brush was used with the pounce powder and rubbed over the machine-stitched stencil you describe...it worked really well, much better than the pad. Give it a try..

Yvonne

PosyP wrote: Yes, they do make a 110 needle. I use it with vellum to stitch stencils for pouncing.

Yes, they do make a 110....and I would suggest the new ceramic- based pencil in a choice of colors.....Fons and Porter has one...
there are others as well....Sewline, Clover to name couple. I've used these for a while now and find the remove well. No smudging.
White one is great ! The crayola washable markers work well, too.

If the needle holes are too small for the pounce to go through, put a larger needle in your machine - look for a 100 (do they do 110?), and that should work better.

I took a class with Phillipa Naylor and she uses an ordinary pencil - I would suggest either a hard, 2h or 3h. If it is going to be washed the Crayola washable felt tip pens work well - recommendation from Margo that I have tried. As always do a test on scraps first.