A few thing I do to help these issues. Mark a 1/4 inch line on my fabric and see where the fabric lies under the pressure foot when the needle is inserted on this line. Adjust the needle position if possible, or know where to line up fabric under the foot. When you start sewing, hold the thread ends. This will usually help with the machine eating your fabric. When I come to those thick joint seams I use a stiletto or seam ripper if it is handy. Hold it under the front of the pressure foot until it gets over the hump