Hello Kim - and welcome! We surely don't want you getting discouraged.
I use a piece of black electric tape - but maybe you'd want to use a piece of blue painters tape. The black electric tape can leave a residue on your machine.
Anyways, try this. Take your blue painters tape and cut off a piece about 3" long. Put that on your machine where the edge of your fabric would butt up against it. Now, put 2 pieces of scrap material in your machine and put your needle down like you are going to start sewing a seam. Sew a little bit. Take the fabric off and measure from where the seam runs to the edge of the fabric. That's what you want as 1/4". So, if your seam is too big, move the fabric over a little and your painters tape and keep doing that until you get it right. When you get it right, that will be where you always want your fabric edge to butt up against.
I hope this made sense to help you out.

Oh, and when you get to the end of a seam, the fabric wants to do its own thing and turn inwards unless you pay close attention and try to hold it straight - some people use a stiletto or even maybe a pair of tweezers would work.

Hugs,