I am undertaking my first hand quilting project and I have done lots of trial and error to find what works. I also tried the tape and that was just a waste of my money and time. What I have found that works for me is to draw a line where I want to hand stitch using either a chalk pencil for dark colors and using colored (I'm currently using a green)slivers of soap for the white fabrics. The soap will wash out when I am finished. You could also draw your design on tissue paper and pin it to your fabric and sew on the lines. I gave this a half hearted attempt and then just went back to marking my stitching line.