It should work fine. some people loosen top tension and buy the separate bobbin case that Janome makes for FM but that bobbin case is not necessary. Also most ppl use a top-stitch needle bc it has a larger eye so thread not as likely to get caught. i wonder if you are moving the quilt too slowly. you don't get fluid movement til you pick up speed some when doing FM. i have recently begun to use my start/stop button with speed control set on medium. it means i move quilt more slowly but still not slow.