Pratice on something else first until you feel you have a length that you like. I had the four quilt tops that my grandmother made quilted by a church group. You can tell it was a group because the stitches are not the same. It wasn't done as well as the ones my Grandmother did. Even some of the vintage quilts I am repairing were done at the "quilting bees" aand I see the differences. I even find a knot occassionally and my Grandmother was adamant that "A quilt should never know a knot!".