I have sewn with plastic on my sewing machine (it's a 9 year old Bernina) and it did just fine. You are supposed to use either a roller or nylon foot. Since I have neither, I used tissue paper, too. I sewed with the plastic on the bottom and the fabric on the top. I put the tissue paper between the bed of my sewing machine and the plastic. That way I could see where I was sewing, instead of having the plastic and tissue paper on top, blocking my view. I had no problems at all. I used only slightly larger stitches and the tissue paper tore off just fine. Good luck!! It is not easy--but you can do it.