I found two things that helped me when I first started piecing and trying for the 1/4" seam. First was to move the speed dial on my machine so that it limited how fast I could sew. Also, I am short and found it difficult to look down onto what i was sewing. So I purchased two small rubber door stops and placed them on the back side of my machine. This tilted it enough so that I could actually see what I was doing. My 1/4 seams improved dramatically.