I used a strong stabilizer tear away stabilizer from pellon. I only put the batting on after I had done the embroidery. So the batting and the backing was on when I did my free motion quilting.
I did pre-wash, dry the fabric before I did anything. And I starched it like there was no tomorrow LOL
The reason I didn't embroider through all three layers is that I did that before and I found the back of the quilt looked really messy and tight. BUT, I did different designs, so maybe that was the issue.
I think what I might have to do in the future is a test on one of the blocks with the three layers and see how it looks.
Also - feline's tips to quilt as close as possible to the design to make it pop is great ... I am going to try that this weekend.
Right now I'm working on another one in black and purple LOL