I usually wash my quilts before giving them away.....I make mainly quilts that are meant to be used and I want the person to know they can use it....so I toss it in the washing machine just like would my clothes....and yep.....into the dryer too on the normal cycle I use. This also gives me a chance to check that I did OK when making the quilt and that colors ran as I don't always prewash my fabric. I find people are more likely to actually use my quilt and not keep it in a closet when pre-washed and dried in a dryer and I tell them that I did so.....Of course if it was an art quilt and meant to hang on a wall.....I would not wash it.....washing also removes chemicals and softens the quilt somewhat.....

I love General's White "Charcoal" pencil for dark fabrics. It's not chalk. It sharpens to a very nice point. It says on very well, and brushes off with a lint brush or erases with a good eraser.

You can get them at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, or your local art supply store.

I love the Crayon markers. Have never had a problem with them washing out. I also use Color Catchers as a extra safety step.

I used that very same orange chalk on a quilt recently. Very difficult to wash out! But, like you, it was the only thing that I could see on the colors of the quilt on which I was working. I would suggest, if you continue with the orange, take some Dawn dish detergent and soak that into your orange markings and let sit for a good while before washing. I had to wash the king size quilt 3-4 times and still scrub some of those orange lines with a toothbrush (old) and dawn before I got the worst of it out of the quilt.

I like the idea of the parchment paper and quilting over it. Might try that next time.

I like to use soap slivers on dark fabrics. On lights I use a SewFine pencil in yellow or green.

So far, I have been able to remove marks with my squirt bottle and a bit of paper towel. No need to wash. I found this out when I decided to change a few lines after marking & just wanted to erase a bit. Of course, with lots of marking, washing would be faster and easier.

I'm so glad you posted on this subject as I have been looking for a marking tool that really works. I started FMQ about 2 years ago and so far all I have done is the rambling stipple patterns because I didn't have a reliable way to mark a pattern. One thing I know is to not blindly mark the whole quilt until you know for sure the markings will come out, don't ask me how I know this. I think I'll try the washable Crayon markers next, but I'll test it on a scrap piece first.