free motion without a stitch regulator can be easier than you think
I cut my teeth on a Bernina stitch regulator. I found though that it was more like training wheels. Once I achieved a good stitch I found I could do it fine with out the regulator. Now I do not have a Bernina, so no regulator. I do well on my Brother Innovis, as we are old friends. However I have a new Viking and was having some bigish problems. I solved it by lowering the foot presser pressure setting, so the fabric slides around easier and disconnecting the foot pedal and using the start stop button instead. Here is why, I don't have to worry about keeping the speed steady. I just set the speed at what I want and know that if I want to stop my thumb can easy reach the button. Perhaps you friend would like to try with the start stop button. After all keeping the speed steady no matter what; is what the stitch regulator mostly does....an of course practice practice, practice. There is nothing like muscle memory to make free motion automatic. Once she gets a decent meander, she can work on following a stencil line and then on to more complex free motion patterns.