Generally I'll sketch my pattern out in a sketchbook then go back in and free hand it onto the cloth so it can get a bit messy (as you can see from my image below)As for how it washes out

The pens work wonderfully, I free hand

The pens work wonderfully, I free hand

After working on one of my projects, I noticed my hand was very smudged up with blue ink, and had a panic because I thought the ink had smudged on the fabric.