Keeping FMQ stitches even
 

I've been attempting to do FMQ for the past 2 years and it's really not getting into me. I can't keep my curves even when sewing circles and stitches are never even. The biggest problem I have is not knowing the direction the needle should go and I always get caught in a corner. All quilters say practice makes perfect but perhaps FMQ is just not for me.

Is there any advice on how I could have more even stitches...should I go faster, slower etc? I need lots of help here before I give up on FMQ totally. :(

If you can practise this. Middle speed with no foot control. Keep feet up and just try. At different speeds ,oing the fabric .i tried this. And it did help. Rules are all wrong but it is one way of getting use to just the fabric move.

I have found using the stop and start button on my Janome 6600 and having the speed at medium - medium slow allows me to concentrate on just moving the fabric - it's helping to make my stitches more consistent.

Try free motion quilting with the feed dogs up. I tend to pull the fabric when I was free motion quilting, and I would end up pulling the needle etc. and you just don't get good results when you pull the fabric. See if this helps.

Feed dogs up helps a lot and going very slow at first. I thought I was going slow enough this morning and noticed a few "eyelashes" on the back on some curves. Leah Day has started keeping her feed dogs up.

My FMQ stitches are not always the same size. Important thing is to be relaxed and try to move hands to match machine speed. Hands a bit slower than machine is going. Once the quilt is washed and dried, it isn't that noticeable.
Just keep doing it and it will get better.

The way I started is: Sew a line (regular settings) just as if you were sewing a garment. Go slower than usual and feel the rhythm of the fabric feeding, and the needle going into the fabric, pierce, pierce, etc the fabric. When you feel you have that, take a fabric sandwich and do the FMQ going the same speed, feeling the pierce, pierce of the fabric, moving the fabric (FD down, FMQ settings) just a little so that you feel each stitch. You can go faster as you start feeling the rhythm. You'll know when you are going too fast. It will take a while to find the zone. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I need to find ways to continue to motivate myself & not feel discouraged. I'm on medium speed now and most stitches look really long. Some quilters say going faster should shorten the stitches, is this true? The quilting machine I'm using didn't make it all easier. I'm using Janome 6320 & I've been getting tension issues since I started, even the service centre couldn't figure out what's wrong. Perhaps it's time to upgrade my machine.