Yes, feed dogs should be dropped, darning or FM foot should be on. Press foot pedal to fast and move slower. Practice, practice, practice. It will get easier!

I bought a 12 inch embroidery plastic hoop, put those little sticky rubber dots all around the hoop. it works great for moving the quilt around, I put good music on and move to the rythem.

It's so hard to start something you really want to do and then have it not come out ok.... but... i've learned... if it's gonna make me sad... i quickly throw it out!!!
That being said....you could practice on "just a piece of fabric" (with batting).... sometimes it's handy to have for making tissue cases, or totes... or even pillow etc...
Now,,, feed dogs are dropped, or covered... on my reg sewing machine... i've read and i do... have the stitch length at 0... as for the tension i keep it the same....
the other trick is to have that speed pretty fast.... and Don't move the fabric too fast or far... that was my problem in the beginning... it would tend to pucker if you do.... move so that the stitches appear to be at about 1.5 or 2 (about how you'd use to piece)...
Another tip.. for me.. the whole "stipple thing" is just not possible.... i have no problem doing what i call a loop de loop..one loop goes up... the next goes down... that seems to be a movement that comes natural to me... it's now a standing joke at my quilt group... here comes barb and her Loop de Loop!!!! but it works...
Once i got this... it made me have to get a Janome 1600 and a Grace Pinnacle frame... what a blast that is!!!
So.. sorry if this was borin, but i could not resist some input... i remember the beginning...
pm me any time if need be... Barbara

I'm new at FMQ, also. Practicing 30 min. to 1 hr a day for a month before I did my 1st charity quilt. Agree with others. 12" to 15" sandwich with thin batting, top & bottom threads different colors so could tell which needed fixing. Tension all the way to 9. Fast machine, slow hands. Gloves are too hot for me, halo cost too much. Get this - I use the Mr. Clean sponge's. They cling to the fabric and I grip less tightly therefore my hands are more comfortable. I stop and take a break if I get tense. I found I could add a clean fabric to the top of the sandwich, change bobbin color and practice again without using more batting & as much fabric. I added fabric on top and sometimes on bottom till it was too thick for machine to FMQ. Practice daily till it looks good, not perfect. Keep it fun!

If machine gloves are too hot for you (and they are for me), try some hand lotion that isn't greasy.

Stick with it. I learned fMQ on domestic and now have to start a whole learning curve on LAQ. Feels overwhelming, just stick with it. There are so many books out there that help with idea and designs. One day you will be a master of FMQ! Keep practicing.

Hi
Love your avatar. Your snowman quilt is fab - can you tell me where you got the pattern.

Hi
Love your avatar. Your snowman quilt is fab - can you tell me where you got the pattern.

We've all been there...I practice on little sandwiches of 2 scraps of fabric with batting in between. Been quilting for 4 years, it still looks like a beginner. I've taken several FMQ classes....oh well

I FMQ on an old janome and always find I have to raise the top tension to max. Also I always use the same thread top and bottom so any slight imperfections do not show.

Good luck hope it works out - its great when you can do it and know how your machine likes to behave!