I agree with every one above, I only do free hand before I start I get out my dry erace board and draw the patern I want to use over, and over, and over again, it trains the mind and hand to work together, try laying a clear peace of plastic, the thick kind you can get at Joann's in there yardage plastic area, tape your panel down to a table or counter, cover with plastic, using a dry erase marker trace it as if you were standing at your machine. Do this several times if you make a mistake just wipe it off and try again. Hope this helps. Don't give up keep trying, good luck