I have used chalk, but it doen't remove easily for me, also have tried the colored pencils, don't like them, can not get rid of the lines afterwards. I like to use the Dritz dual purpose mark8ing pen, blue on one end and purple on the other end. They also come in just the one colors for the total pen, all blue or all purple. The blue must be washed out with a damp cloth sometimes more than once and sometimes that goes through to the backing, so check that. The purple dries in the air, and don't mark all of your quilt at once, because the air will dry the pen color out before you complete your project. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to on my next quilt using an eraser pink large one like students use or the eraser on a pencil. This should mark things and would be easily brushed off. I don't know if this will work or not, but definitely plan to give it a try. Good luck!!