In a previous post I outlined the different pens and pencils for transferring embroidery patterns onto fabric.

Here I wanted to focus in on heat erasable pens and why these are my go-to for drawing on fabric.

• The tip is fine, but not too fine meaning you can get a nice clean line

• They are robust and don’t rub off or disappear when you stitch or put the project down for a time

• They erase quickly, just a couple of minutes after adding heat, you can snap a picture of the finished embroidery

There are some reports from other embroiders of the lines reappearing, especially when the embroidery gets really cold. However, applying heat again does make them disappear once more. As with all methods of transfer making sure your stitching covers the lines also reduces this issue.

They don’t work well on darker coloured fabrics, but neither do any of the other type of pens - carbon paper or chalk pens are needed for those situations.

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