I took a class on quilting. If you want to do FMQ all over, say feathers for instance, the instructor told us that you stitch in the ditch with water soluble thread to hold down your rows. You start in the very middle, with both ends rolled up so you can get the quilt through the harp. You sew down one row, then the next row you start at the bottom and sew back up, alternating top and bottom sew down, unrolling as you go. When you finish the one half of the quilt, you go back to the very first row, and move over and sew the next row, unrolling the other side as you go just like the first half. Once you have the rows all sewn down with water soluble thread, you then begin FMQ. Once washed, only your FMQ designs is your quilting.