The pecil lines won't wash out!!!

[deb]

Did some lovely leaf designs and while taking pics of them yesterday I noticed the pencil lines I'd used to guide my folds still on the pillowcases! Haven't had this happen before, and I need to get them out before I send them to their designated buyer.

HEEEEELLLP!!!!!

[pburch]

Was it an ordinary pencil? Is there any chance it was not an ordinary 2B graphite pencil? Is the brand marked on the side of the pencil?

Were you using Procion MX dyes? I've had this happen only when using fabric paints, not with dyes. This is because the acrylic binder in the fabric paint protected the graphite from washing out. Nothing in our normal dyeing process will prevent an ordinary graphite pencil from washing out.

How did you do your washout? I don't know whether it's the hot water or the cold water that has washed out my pencil lines. If the pencil had a greasier base than is typical, perhaps you should use a grease-removal product to wash it out. (I always use Pine-sol to wash out oily stains from clothing; Lestoil works, too. Apply it directly, let it soak in for a few minutes, then wash in HOT water.)

There is a spray product sold for quilters that is called Marking-Pencil Removal, but I've never needed it, so I can't tell you if it's any good or not. My pencil marks have always washed out without any attention at all.

Paula

[deb]

I suppose it's possible that one of the pencils from my kids' pencil cup wasn't a proper basic #2 graphite, but not likely. The side of the pencil just says, "Made in China." 

Washout, I did the usual, rinsed it in cool water to get out soda ash and loose dye and then into the washer on hot with synthrapol. And yes, the Procion MX is all I'm using these days unless I'm embellishing something I've already dyed.

I tried it again with some Spray'n'Wash Stain Stick but IT'S STILL THERE!!!!!

One thought did occur to me, though: the pillowcase label says it's wrinkle-free and something about an environmentally-friendly process to make it wrinkle-free; might that have something to do with it?

It's for pillowcase dresses a customer wants to make from them, so just flipping the pillowcase over isn't an option!

[deb]

OK, the pillowcases sat overnight with Stain Stick on the pencil lines, and I'm not seeing lines in my laundry. I guess that was the trick, letting that stuff on it a bit longer.

I'm guessing the wrinkle treatment might be part of what made the difference, although using cheap Lillian Vernon pencils probably didn't help. 

[pburch]

I'll bet it was the anti-wrinkle treatment. "Environmentally friendly" just means they substituted another chemical for the formaldehyde that is usually used to produce no-iron finishes. Whatever it is, it might have an affinity for graphite and other particles of that size. The cheap Lillian Vernon pencils we used to use seemed okay to me.

I'm glad the pencil lines came out, anyway.

Paula

[steve]

Use washable markers like crayola. I like fabric transfer pencils best, but they aren't always at hand in most homes.

Steve

[Releaf]

We use highlighters for this purpose and they always wash out.

[deb]

As a mom, I've had mixed luck with "washable" markers not always washing all the way out.

I'll have to try hihglighters. Or maybe my pattern marking chalk.

[ecilA]

As a mom, I've had mixed luck with "washable" markers not always washing all the way out.

I'll have to try hihglighters. Or maybe my pattern marking chalk.

I use washable marker but I tend to keep it to the lighter colors.  I've found that the darker colors, given a few days on the fabric, can linger, not so much a problem if you're going to dye right away but still possible especially if you're folding and waiting to dye.