The settings for balancing have nothing to do with the fabric you are holding and sewing.. What they will change is how much the fabric will move on the machine with the feed dogs. It's like balancing a buttonhole. If one side of the buttonhole is too long, you either shorten or lengthen the other side in the software in the machine. You don't drag or pull the fabric to balance. The same goes for side to side balance.

Looking at the screen for a newer Pfaff - it looks a lot easier than the older models!

Thanks Weezy, I will check this out. I've not heard about this before.

I just bought this machine. I have played with the stitches a little. Because of the side movement I was thinking when I get ready to add these stitches to a project I would add painters tape or something to show me the 'lane' I want the stitch to stay in. You can't really hold the fabric too much because you don't want to be fighting it or stressing the machine/fabric as it is pulling.
I love the idea of just drawing the lines on the fabric with chalk or something. I will try that!

Also just bought the Performance 5.0 and having been playing with stitches. I ordered the Maxi foot when I bought the machine but have not yet received it so haven't played with Maxi stitches yet. According to store where I bought my machine Pfaff take a long time processing orders for accessories so I just keep calling to check.

In my experience with ordering feet from Pfaff, it does take a long time. I could never figure out if the store waits until they have several things to order or if Pfaff is really that slow. I hope our members will continue to comment on this thread. I've been out of the state for 3 months. But I'm looking forward to getting in my sewing room to work with this again. If I learn anything, I'll post again.