Another fabric marking tool

[Dixiecat]

I've tried:
-chalk wheel
-soap stone pencil
-dressmakers chalk pencil
-sharpened chalk

None were satisfactory. Some left a too wide of a line, some took a lot of pressure to leave a mark and the chalk wheel was too messy. I also should mention that the kilts I've made are from dress tartans which will have sections of white. My first kilt was a black Dress Erskine, the only colours in the tartan are white and black so chalk really wasn't the answer for me.

I finally went with little brass safety pins. I was able to get the pins practically on the thread i needed. I was then able to travel with my kilt and sew away while on business trips and not worry about chalk marks being rubbed out.
http://www.safetypins.com/traditional_pins.htm

[ChattanCat]

I've tried:
-chalk wheel
-soap stone pencil
-dressmakers chalk pencil
-sharpened chalk

None were satisfactory. Some left a too wide of a line, some took a lot of pressure to leave a mark and the chalk wheel was too messy. I also should mention that the kilts I've made are from dress tartans which will have sections of white. My first kilt was a black Dress Erskine, the only colours in the tartan are white and black so chalk really wasn't the answer for me.

I finally went with little brass safety pins. I was able to get the pins practically on the thread i needed. I was then able to travel with my kilt and sew away while on business trips and not worry about chalk marks being rubbed out.
http://www.safetypins.com/traditional_pins.htm

Basting is a great way to set a line and be able to travel without losing the lines.

[Tartan Hiker]

I use chalkboard chalk like Alan H, but I don't even try to "sharpen" it. I keep an old pasteboard box handy...I hold the chalk perpendicular to the bottom surface of the box and wipe it back and forth until I get a perfectly flat face on the end of the chalk stick. That gives me a nice sharp edge all the way around. I do this inside a box so that I'm less likely to lay something down on the chalk marks.

[Barb T]

To use chalk well (whatever kind you use), you need a sharp edge and a *light* hand. To draw the apron edge, stand the chalk straight up and down with the long edge of the chalk (not the point) on the cloth. Stand behind the chalk (not to one side), and push the chalk straight away from you along the curve in one smooth movement. Swish! No little sketchy strokes. Keep the edge of the chalk parallel to the line you're drawing so that you don't wind up with a smeary line, and keep the chalk straight up and down. Think of it like an ice skate on ice.

"Sew True" company (http://sewtrue.com/) sells an excellent little tailors chalk sharpener. Go to their web site, and type "chalk sharpener" into the search box. They also sell Jems tailors chalk very cheaply. I love the chalk sharpener, and it has a little shavings catcher below the sharpening edge, so it doesn't get all over the place.

I work with dress tartans, too, and I still use white chalk. Well, that's not quite true - real tailors chalk is actually slightly gray, so the line actually shows up. Once I'm happy with the chalk line, I put a line of basting stitches to mark it, because I find that, on light tartan, the chalk *is* hard to see, and because the chalk rubs off easily. I ordered a box of the light yellow chalk once, thinking I'd need it for light tartans, but it leaves too colorful a line in my estimation, and I've found I don't really need it. So, it's sat on my shelf unused.

Anyway, real tailors chalk is a dream to work with compared to soap or blackboard chalk, and it's worth getting some. I like Jems the best. I can't get the triangular chalk that Robert talks about, but I've used it before, and it's great, too. And the chalk sharpener would work well on it as well.