I am a fairly new quilter, but I was wondering if a serger is a worthwhile purchase or can this same thing be accomplished with your own personal machine?

Just curious, any advice would be helpful.

It is not necessary to own a serger to make a quilt.

It is nice to have one for serging raw edges of fabrics before washing them (if you are one that washes - I am) and for finishing the raw edges of a quilt before binding it.

It's great to have for general sewing - those finished edges sure make an item look better.

I like mine.

Yes, I own one. No, is not necessary to own one.

Mine was given to me. Is is useful if you make garments or things like courtains, but not needed for quilting. It secures the edge of the seams, but you do that from the outside when quilting.

I have a serger and although I'd consider it pretty necessary for garment sewing you don't need it for quilting.

I have one and never use it, the threads keep breaking and I have finally given up on it. Probably has about 30 minutes of sewing on it.

Ditto, almost...I've got several hours on mine but it's 20 years old. Most of the time, it's not worth the aggravation. It stays in the closet unless I'm ready for a fight!

If you just plan on quilting, put that money into a good sewing machine instead. JMHO :)

I'm afraid if I buy a serger I might have to sew clothes. I've been quilting for 12 years and haven't needed one yet!

A serger can be used to make a quilt, but I personally had problems with both accuracy and seam bulk when I tried it. For me, anyway, it's much better to sew quilts on a sewing machine. The serger is great for sewing curtains and clothing (especially knits), not nearly as useful for making quilts.

There are many quilt patterns that can be made on a sewing machine that cannot be made with a serger. The serger is much more limited for quilting applications.

Not to mention the expense. Instead of spending money on a serger that I may or may not use I'd rather use it on getting a better machine or fabric.

My sewing machine comes with an overcasting and overlocking stitch. The big difference is that the serger will cut the fabric while it stitches. The only time I've used the overlocking was to do curtains for my stepsons room because the fabric was ravelly and I've also used it to hem pants. For me not worth the investment.