Suze9395

I love love love the pentel gel fabric pens. They come in black, blue and red. They write SUPER smooth. No bleeding. And, I set with a warm iron and had zero fading.

I bought and tested several different pens and this was the best I found. Very user friendly for the signers, just like a normal roller pen.

Pentel of America, Ltd. Gel Roller Pen for Fabric, Bold Point, 1.0mm, Smudge Free, Black/Red/Blue

Pigma pens are often suggested for the signatures. But, the points are so fine and pointy they can be very challenging to write with. And the lines are so super fine. Not nearly as easy to read.

Therese

I made signature blocks for my son's wedding and it was a hit. I put the blocks in a pretty basket (dish, platter etc.)
and black Micron marking pens (Hobby Lobby, on sale) in a short vase with instructions written on a paper put in a picture frame nearby. What I learned is: Make sure you have enough blocks. It's a pain to send blocks and a pen out in the mail that you may not get back. Also, it's a good idea to use a Frixion pen or other marker that will erase to mark the quarter inch margins, as I had a few that were written right up to the edge of the fabric. (Non quilters, for sure!)
Now, to make the quilt! Of course, another option is to have the top made before the wedding and just have people sign it.

Annaquilts

I am not sure if anyone suggested this but I normally make the quilt and finish it. then sit at a table with the quilt and pens and have people sign on the finished quilt. Then I set it with an iron. My friends do the same. With one quilt I had people sign on the back. I did find with the signing on the back some wordy people wrote way too much. Having blocks with small slots for the signature helps guide the length of the notes. It does help also to have some blocks already signed so people can use that as an example. Remind people not to hold the pen on the quilt without moving else there is a good chance there will be bleeding from the pen.

willferg

I'm helping two high school students make a signature quilt for a fundraiser. Since these will be kids signing it, I'd be afraid to have them sign once the quilt is done – big chance they'd write something inappropriate, lol. Instead, I'm going to give them strips of fabric to write on (so mistakes won't matter), and then I'm going to incorporate them into a rail fence block. Depending on how many signatures we get, there will either be one signature between two colored blocks or four strips, two of which will have signatures. We are using the school colors for contrast.

AliKat

What a loving undertaking.

I have done quite a few signature quilts. I gather the signatures before making the blocks so the quilt won't be harmed by careless signees. On the first one I found some people just plain 'ol didn't 'get it' and signed into the seam allowances of the fabric provided. So I put on my thinking cap and decided what to do. The people now signed only the signature fabric that I had prepared, precut, and put inside of a manilla file folder that was the same size with a window cut out for where to sign. I also had a line on the inside of the folder so their signatures might be centered if that is what they wanted.

You could always have the finished quilt posted somewhere online for those who want to see the finished quilt.