Yes, there is a tool to help you. It's available at the quilt shops. It's a piece of vinyl, with a rectulangular area cut out for the presser foot and feed dogs to work through. You tape it to the sewing machine and then place your materila on top. It really does help.
My neighbor's solution was to take a cover from the presentation folders you can buy anywhere. She cut her own opening, taped it to the machine, and away she went.
The first solution = $22.00.
The second solution = pennies.
Good luck.
Emjay