Do you adjust your tension for free motion quilting? If so.....

What do you adjust it from (when you sew normally) and what do you adjust it to (when you free motion quilting)?  The back of my practice pieces were TERRIBLE but I adjusted my tension to a higher number and it got remarkably better but still not good enough to do on a real quilt (not practice).

Thanks for the advice in advance

-Susan

Everyone's machine is different of course so it's hard to give advice on the topic of tension. 

Generally though, most people have to turn up/tighten their tension a bit when free motion quilting. For regular sewing, your tension should be around 4-5. For FMQ, I turn mine up to 6-7 which is just a little higher/tighter than normal. (A trick I always use when I'm confused on which direction to turn my dial is "lower loser".  This translates to lower number on the dial equals looser needle tension.)

If your stitches are still not looking as nice as you'd like, you might want to work on the balance between the speed of your needle and the movement of your fabric. This is probably hardest area for new quilters.

Good luck and keep practicing!