fmq question
 

Good Morning! When I am fmq and stop to adjust my hands, my needle is in the down position. When I begin again, often my needle (or fabric?) will shift a bit giving me a wonkly line. I've read to take an extra stitch when I start up again and I am holding my fabric securely. Anyone know what mistake I am making or how to correct this? I am using a Juki TL2010Q. Thanks!

Make sure that there is absolutely no tension or drag on your fabric anywhere before you start up again. If the sides of your quilt are hanging off anywhere it will cause your work to shift each time you lift your hands.

Watson

I try to make sure that when I start up again that my fabric doesn't move, it doesn't always work but it's not that noticeable. I'm not sure why it does that, but I do know that it's not because of tension or drag, at least not when I restart.

I have the same problem, and despite everything I do, it still happens. It's not really visible in the finished product, but it just really bugs me.

Awareness is the first step, to correcting the problem. Good for you!

Agree, an extra stitch is not so wrong.
Also, watch that you don't start moving the sandwich before the machine is stitching.
The biggest part to success is always ..... the age-old practice, practice, practice!! :)

Here’s a YouTube video from Helen Godden that might be helpful

https://youtu.be/BcvFkpjONT0

I still have that issue now and then. All above good suggestions. Sometimes it just takes a lot of practice.

even when not doing FMQing, i tend to take a stitch in place when making any turn.

For the most part I don't have this problem too often. Keeping my foot off of the foot pedal when stopped helps a lot.