Serger for Quilting - How do you use yours
 

I found a Serger at the local consignment store and they wanted 100.00 I talked them down to 60.00 - no idea if I got a good deal or not since its older but looks brand new. its an Elna 614. I have never used a Serger but have read here and there its great to use for quilting. I am very interested in hearing how others use their Sergers when making quilts. I know I am going to have a huge learning curve...and looking at the machine wonder how hard its going to be to thread. I am looking forward to hearing how others use their and also tips and advice.

i don't use mine for quilting as it adds too much thread bulk in the seam allowances. glad to hear that you got a good deal on your serger.

An idea for threading your serger is to tie a thread on the existing thread before it comes to the end and just pull it through and viola you have it threaded. I don't use my serger for quilting but always serge my cut ends of fabric when brought home and then wash so it is ready to go when I am ready to use it.

I bought a serger about 5 yrs ago thinking how much I would use it....not.....it now sits with a dust cover on it.....once had to rethread....5 hrs later....still no luck...had to take it back to store and was rethreaded in less than 5 minutes, so hint about tying that thread and leading thru paths is a great hint. I honestly cannot remember when I last used the dumb thing....of course I only quilt, so why did I think I needed that monster...........

There is not that much use for serging in quilting. the only use I could see is serging the ends of fabric you wash so it doesn't unravel

I found this video on how to quilt using a serger http://video.search.yahoo.com/search...eb&n=21&tnr=21

Welll i love my serger....i`ve done a lot of clothes in the past with it but now use it mostly to serge edges of fabric before washing....as well as once in a while when i see that some fabric unravels easily i will go back and serge a few edges...yes, in the back of my quilts....i haven`t had any problem yet with the thickness , but i only SID for now....I also serge the edges of my quilts after thy are sandwiched and when i have quilted enough lines to hold it together....It so easy to put the binding on it after the quilting is done....and I handstich my bindings so makes the work much easier ...for me anyways....

My first couple of quilts, I used my serger. I didn't know better, but my quilter did tell me they were the most accurate quilts she had ever quilted. I thought that was funny. She did tell me that if you enter a quilt in a big competition that it being serged would disqualify it. Probably because they are too perfect. :-P I now just use my sewing machine, to get the full experience piecing.

You can use your serger for a decorative effect on top of your quilt. One way is to make your quilt as if you're making a rag quilt but instead of attaching the individual squares with your sewing machine, attach with the serger with some of the beautiful threads they have out there.

I sew all my seams on the serger. As a result I never have a problem with seams splitting. I also use it round the edge of the finished top. This stops the edges fraying and makes binding easier.