Tuesday 30 May 2017

Most Used Sewing Tools ~ Hera Marker

Often as not, I eyeball stitching lines when quilting. There are times, however, when precision is important and that's when I reach for my hera marker.

Use a hera marker to sew straight quilting lines ~ Threading My Way

It's a handy little tool that makes temporary creases in the fabric. The creases / lines are visible on both sides of the fabric, and are distinct enough that they can be seen easily and used as a guide when sewing.


Until a quilting retreat a couple of years ago, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a hera marker. I'm not keen on marking the right side of fabric with pencils / pens / chalk - just in case they don't come off. Also because removing the marks is another step in the process, and I'm basically lazy.


There are possibly different brands of hera markers. I honestly don't know. Mine's made by Clover, because that's what was for sale at the quilting retreat.

As you can imagine, the creases don't remain in the fabric indefinitely - they disappear after a while, so perhaps hera markers are best suited to small projects.

Use a hera marker to sew straight quilting lines ~ Threading My Way

It's easy to use a hera marker to make straight lines - just run it along the edge of a ruler, as you would a pencil.

You might find the following links helpful...

What tips, or horror stories, do you have for marking fabrics?

The photos in this post are sneak peeks of an upcoming tutorial. Stay tuned...

... Pam




10 comments:

  1. That's great for such tools for marking.

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  2. Well! I've seen those, but so many "gadgets" aren't worth the money and/or don't do what they're purported to do, so I hadn't tried this particular one. I use Frixion type disappearing pens for marking - I have them in many colours and LOVE them. I'd give this type of tool a try though :D

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  3. I like Frixon markers, but never mark on a dark fabric with Frixon markers because I learned the hard way that after ironing, the color of the marker may disappear, but a white line is visible and will not iron or wash out! I like to use Clover brand chalk powder markers too as they brush away. A sliver of soap is good for marking dark fabrics.

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  4. Well I definitely need one of those! I always have eyeballed my lines, but sometimes it goes poorly for me.

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  5. Thanks for sharing! I haven't tried precision sewing so don't have any disasters in that area - my projects fail completely and I feel even if I draw lines with proper visible pen, I can never sew straight:)

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  6. like you I use a hera marker at the moment I am drawing circles round a fruit dish with mine would be lost without it. I used to make the fabric with a pencil this is so much easier and of course does not need to be washed out

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  7. I'm another one who uses Frixon pens when marking full sized quilts. I have found that the pens can leave a 'ghost' mark on dark fabric but I now put the finished quilt through my washing machine on a hot wash before ironing it, as the heat from the iron seems to set the ink. This appears to have cured the ghosting problem but I would always recommend a trial run on a fabric scrap first!

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    1. Thanks for the info on Frixon pens, Josie. They do seem to be very popular. Think it's time I tried one.

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  8. After reading about this tool, I ran out and bought one and O.M.G. what a game changer! I only make baby/child quilts so I don't know how it would work out on a larger one, but it worked great on my latest I Spy quilt! Love, love, love, this genius invention! Thank you to the person responsible!

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