Rymer

wow!! that looks way better than my practice attempts! great job. i'm jealous!

watterstide

wear rubber gloves..(you can get them at walmart,gardening gloves with rubber finger tips) make sure your fabric top is as even as you can get it with the sewing machine..if it is not already.

i am thinking maybe your foot tension is to tight..if your having that much trouble moving the fabric. take your time.

you really didn't need a feed dog cover..my girlfriend uses her old drivers liscense..or a business card. her feed dogs don't go down either..older machine.

for practicing use the cheapest fabric,I use muslin, top and bottom with batting in between..and a color of thread that is totally different than the color of the fabric/muslin, so you can see what your doing easier.

cuppi duke

I think you are doing great. I also think that some machines just don't adapt well to free mothion. I have a new commercial grade singer and it doesn't do as well as my little cheap brother. I have found that by putting my stitch length on 0 it works better but sometimes still skips on the back.

laadw

It took me a while to get the hang of it. Each time I FMQ a new project it takes me a little while to get back in the grove. Just keep practicing. I was always afraid to FMQ and finally I tried it and now I like it. I tried a new design last night and I realized I am acutally getting better at it.

cuppi duke

I use a darning (or quilting) foot that has a spring and the little bar goes over the needle screw to keep the foot up a small amount. If you can't find one at your local shop you can get them on e-bay. Just type in quilting foot.

Jamie

I agree...gloves are a must..I got a pair of gardening gloves, that have the little plastic grippy dots on them..you can get them at the dollar store..and it makes it soo much easier to move the fabric around...a quilting foot is also the easiest way to do free motion, and probably the safest...I've tried with other feet, and no foot at all..Also there are also some great tools out there to use to draw on the quilt to follow a pattern..I use a marker that turns invisible when it dries.

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I have not tried gloves of any kind yet. That's next on the practice list.

I have the springy foot. It is much better than no foot, but does seem a bit tight at some intesections. I need to play around to see if there is an adjustment.

I use the darning plate cover that come with my machine. It is a bit raised so the foot fits tighter. It never occured to me to not cover the dogs. I thought dropping or covering was required for FMQ.

Jingle

I also loosen the amount of pressure put on the foot when you lower the foot to start sewing. I turn the knob until I get it all the way up to the top, no pressure to speak of. It is directly above the foot, at the top of the machine. I set my stitch length to 0, lower the feed dogs, and turn my upper tension to 1, that makes the stitches on the back look good and makes the upper thread go down a little more. All stitching, and movement is on you. I haven't perfected it yet but, when quilt is put on a bed it looks very good. Everyone is pleased with it, so I just keep doing it.

Your first attempt looks great to me. As soon as I finish sewing on the binding, I wash and dry the quilt and that helps it look better also. Just keep doing it and you will be more pleased with your work.