I sandwhich my quilt first and then put it in a large hoop. I start in the center and use a stencil and a .5mm mechanical pencil to mark with. Then I quilt that area, move the fabric over one hoops worth and repeat. I quilt from the center out in circles around the center part where I started. Marking has never bothered me or given me trouble with the hoop on. I love hand quilting but in the interest of saving time I am now doing long arm quilting too.