Joy, your comment about stitching in a straight line reminded me of an old trick I use a lot--plain old masking tape! It comes in several widths, you can tear off as long a length as you need. It sticks well to most cotton fabric and comes off easily w/o leaving any "gummy" stuff. (Technical term... :D ) You stitch right alongside the tape. I buy so much of it, I once caught my boyfriend glancing around the sewing room. I asked what was wrong. He said, "What in here needs fixing? You seem to need an awful lot of tape!" :D