I learned to fmq by watching different videos and practice, practice, and so much more practice. if I'm in a hurry, I'll use painter's paper and cut it the length of quilt, fold it like you would if you were making paper dolls, and then draw a design w/ a connecting line on the two folded sides. Unthread your needle and sew following the design. Open it up and pin to your quilt and free motion quilt away. The paper tears away like a dream.