I like to hand baste with ugly thread( feels great to pull it out as I go), using I hoop. I find that I do better if there is about 3 inches of looseness in the sandwich when it's in the hoop...wiggle room. My stitch got better when I taught myself to "spoon" quilt...hold the edge of a spoon against the underside of the sandwich to bounce the needle off at regular intervals. My stitches are more even now . Keep working at it!