Definition
Tailor's chalk is a marking tool, in a flat slab, pencil or wheel, used to draw temporary lines and points on fabric that brush or wash away.
Patterns carry markings that must reach the fabric: darts, dots, pocket positions, buttonholes, fold lines and grainlines. Tailor's chalk is the traditional way to transfer them, and the most versatile.
Types:
| Type | Best for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Clay chalk slab | Most fabrics, long lines | Sharpen the edge with a blade; brushes out |
| Wax chalk | Wool and tailoring | Melts away under a hot iron, but can stain synthetics and silk |
| Chalk pencil | Precise dots and short lines | Keep it sharp |
| Chalk wheel | Fine, even lines along a ruler | Filled with powdered chalk |
Alternatives include water-soluble and air-erasable pens, which vanish with water or after a few hours (do not iron over them first, since heat can set them), and the tracing wheel with dressmaker's carbon paper.
Mark on the wrong side of the fabric unless the mark has to be seen from the right side, as for pocket placement. Test every marker on a scrap first, including how it behaves after pressing, and use white or yellow on dark fabrics and blue or red on light ones.
For dots, push a pin through the pattern and both fabric layers, then chalk where it comes out on each side. Marking darts accurately is covered in transferring pattern markings.