I have a singer confidence quilting machine and need to know how to adjust the tension because I'm getting loops on the bottom. No place in the manual does it explain free motion quilting. Thanks Janet

Ramp up the tension on the top thread. That's what works for me.

should I be using a special foot also I still get loops

There is a special foot called a darning foot or freemotion quilting foot. There is a spring on the shank of the foot. You have to either cover the feed dogs or drop them.

I had a rats nest with my Pfaff under my backing the other day and found out that the needle lifter had to be pushed into a specific position. Don't know if the Singer has some requirements like that.

The problem is that the owners manual does not tell me what to do for free motion quilting and being I'm new to this I have no idea where to start. I keep getting loops on the underside of the material. Any help for this newbe would be great.

For free motion, you need a foot that "hops". This is usually a darning foot. You don't actually need to drop the feed dogs for free motion; some quilters find it easier to move the fabric if they leave the feed dogs up.

If you haven't already, take all the thread out and re-thread the machine. Make sure the presser foot is up when you do this; otherwise the thread may not seat correctly in the upper tension discs.

Does the machine make good stitches when you change back from free motion to regular stitching?

yes it sews just fine after I try free motion. I thought I had to leave the pressure foot up to free motion.

I have a Juki TL98E, I use a darning foot, Lower the feed dogs, set stitch length to 0, raise pressure on pressure foot, set upper tension to 1 and go to town. I wear garden gloves W/ rubber nubs on them, makes moving quilt easier. I start out with a practice quilt sandwich to make sure everything is working right and looking right. This works for me, I hope it helps you out. Make little adjustments to the tension setting until it looks the way you want it to. Always practice on a quilt sandwich to make sure all is well. I hope this helps you. :D :D :D

great answer !