Anyways, prior to class I had read that sewers use tailor's chalk. I bought the thin triangle of chalk and brought it to class. It was impossible because it was always breaking, the line was uneven, and it pulled at the fabric!
The teacher suggested whittling a piece of soap to make marks. She made it look so easy, but I am lazy. On to the next option!
I found tons of fabric pens, some with disappearing ink, at my local store. However, I had read horror stories about the ink bleeding through, reappearing, or staining the fabric. Nope!
Then, I read about this: the Chakoner!
It's basically a rotating wheel on the bottom, which dispenses chalk powder in a fine, fine line! The top has a brush to dust away the lines, and the brush lifts out for refilling.
Also, it's in a super cute heart because it's made in Japan. They looove cutesy stuff. Oh, and so do I. :)
Check out this perfect dart I marked!
It was just a couple of swipes, and perfect lines without pulling at the fabric!
Very helpful for situations where you have tons of pleats to mark...
Side note: This skirt had five separate panels to pleat (this shows just 2.5 because I folded the top one). I was all ready to mark my pattern through the entire Downton Abbey finale, but I finished in 20 minutes!
Honestly, I'm super excited about this tool because my two least favorite parts about sewing are cutting and marking. I'm almost more excited to mark my patterns than I am to sew. Wait a second... no, I'm not!
Do you have any favorite sewing tools out there?
