On light fabrics I use a plain old mechanical #2 pencil. Dark fabric the Bohin version of the same thing witn white lead. Bohin does make other colors of lead for their markers as well.

As to spacing, have you tried using a long tape measure to sort of rough out your design over the larger area, put some 'registration ' marks where you need to line up your next set of quilting markings?

[QUOTE=ManiacQuilter2;7427479]The yellow, blue and red does NOT come off even when washing. There are many previous post of us who have had problems with this product not coming off. Try the 1/4 masking tape. That should help you the best. I do use the white clover powdered chalk and it comes off easily, /QUOTE]

I certainly won't use the colored chalk. I am using a mechanical pencil, but find that with a fabric eraser, the marks don't come out completely. I also have a Sewline pencil with ceramic lead and it doesn't come out any better. I am not sure how the 1/4" masking tape will help me with a 1" cross hatch. An explanation might help me visualize how that could be done. Thank you so much for your help. I suspect I am not functioning on all cylinders.

Thanks for the suggestion of a measuring tape. I will try it. I have been using my plastic omnigrid, but it is heavy and a bit unwieldy for this purpose. I used Bohin colors, pink and green, on another quilt. The color does finally fade when exposed to light, but it takes months. I also found I had to press really hard to make marks show. Thanks for helping. Thanks everyone for helping. I will get there. Determination wins.

tailor's chalk wasn't easy to remove for me-used yellow though.

The only thing I found that sticks well and can be repositioned, is strips of contact paper. I cut it the width I need, and reposition as needed, until it no longer sticks and start with a new strip. The backing is pre marked with a grid that helps me cut straight, and a roll is from $1 and up. The Dollar store where I live sells short rolls of contact paper so it is a cheap fix. It also comes in light and dark colors so it is easy to see. I haven't had any problems with residue when finished.

I have finally figured out how to accurately mark the crosshatch quilting pattern. My blocks are 12" square when finished. I cut them larger and after I completed the applique on each block, I squared them up perfectly, so my measurements are exact. There are twenty blocks around the outside perimeter of the quilt and the quilt is assembled and on my quilt frame. First, with my mechanical pencil, I marked a 1/4" line across the outside raw edge of each block--two sides of the corner blocks and one side of the rest of the blocks--so that I am marking a 12" square block. I determined that with a 1" diagonal crosshatch grid, the lines must begin 1 1/2" apart all around the outside of the block. I then made a pencil mark every 1 1/2" all around the outside of the block. Next, I matched the marks diagonally with my ruler and marked a line, moving across the block, then marking diagonally across the block the other way until the crosshatch grid is complete. This method insures that the next block around the quilt will match up perfectly. Whew! I don't know why it wasn't apparent to me from the beginning how to do this, guess I am just slow.

I use blue tape all the time for hand quilting. I don't use more than 9 or so inches of tape at a time. When quilting, the tugging of the quilting will tend to pull it loose. So sometimes I put a pin in it, in the middle of the tape, parallel to the edge of the tape.

My fabric shifts as I quilt. No matter how well I think I have it prepared for quilting. I've given up trying to be perfect. Having said that, for cross hatching, it is nice to have the lines actually line up. Most of the time they mismatch by a small amount. When I'm about 6 inches from where the end of the line I'm stitching on has to line up with the next line, I remove the tape (or get a frest piece). I put it back down about three inches from where I left off quilting, hold it down at the start point, then with my other hand line the end of the tape up with the next section of the line. Sometimes the tape will move off the stitching line you have marked a tiny bit, but where the tape picks up on the new section, it will be straight.

I know this sounds a little confusing, and it won't work for machine quilting.

If your talking about the Clover chaco liner ..... that statement is NOT true. I have used the yellow repeatedly and have had NO problems with it coming out in the wash. Now I can not believe that I'm the only quilter to use this and have good results with it washing out of a quilt.

I've had trouble getting yellow, pink, blue and green out of some white/light fabrics--I suggest you test on a scrap of your lightest fabric in your quilt. I use the blue, water soluble pens and have never had any problems--even on a white quilt. You just have to be sure to soak it to get it out completely.