Best pencil for sewers and quilters?

[endacoz]

this year almost all of my sales have been sewing accessories. I have now had request to have pencils that match their seam rippers or needle holders.

Whats a good solid mechanical pencil that will write on fabric with ease? Other thoughts comments or questions to help me, they are much appreciated.I have never made a pencil before but from my research on this forum turning is no different than a pen.

 

[glenspens]

Workshop/Sketch Pen & Pencil Kits at Penn State Industries

 

[Ed McDonnell]

This may be a more complicated challenge than you realize. I suspect that your customers want something that:

A) will clearly, cleanly and easily mark their fabric
B) will leave marks that last as long as they need them to last
C) will leave marks that will easily be removed from the fabric when they want to remove them

The pencils / markers we use in our workshops / offices won't fit the bill. Imagine what might happen if you sell a valued customer something to mark their quilt and they ruin many hundreds of dollars of fabric. Fortunately, most would not buy something that wasn't guaranteed safe for their use. I don't recall ever seeing a "kit" that would meet the need.

There are "chalk" pencil leads, intended for marking fabric, available that might work in a pentel type pencil that you could convert. But not all your customers will like chalk.

You could ask your customers to show you what they currently use and see if you can figure out a way to incorporate it into a showy body.

You could go to a quilt shop (look for shops that sell Bernina, Pfaff, Janome machines). Talk to them and take a look at what they have available for marking fabric and see if anything looks like you could easily customize it. Who knows, they might even buy your products.

Good luck.

Ed

 

[Chuck Key]

Look for suitable tracing wheel and replace the handle with a custom wood handle. Probably a couple of bucks for the original wheel.

 

[TonyL]

Workshop/Sketch Pen & Pencil Kits at Penn State Industries
This and the deluxe model are nice. I made both.

 

[Notscottish]

Dritz makes Chalk marking chalk refill that look like they would fi one of the large marking pencil kits that I see at most of the pen suppliers. the chalk is water soluble and will stay long enough to do hand or machine quilting.
Chalk Cartridge Set-3095 | Dritz Quilting, Sewing & Crafting Supplies

 

[whteglve]

Can someone please tell me why someone would want a pencil in the sewer? I would think it wouldn't write for ...

} Sorry I had to say it.

 

[79spitfire]

Can someone please tell me why someone would want a pencil in the sewer? I would think it wouldn't write for ...

} Sorry I had to say it.

Accounting of course..

 

[TimS124]

Woodturningz has a 0.9mm pencil kit (cigar style) and there are fabric marking pencil refills at fabric stores that are 0.9mm leads...seems like those two together are likely what you're looking for...

Cigar Pencil Kit - 24kt Gold - WoodTurningz

I have .9mm refill leads in a variety of colors (white, yellow, green, pink, and black). Your customers will need more than one color since they likely work with a variety of fabrics and no single color will show up well on all fabrics...

I don't fret that this is a cigar kit...the extra diameter makes it easier for many of the quilters I know to hold/use vs. skinny pencils.