A serger is nice to have, but, no, it's not strictly neccesary. I am planning on making some baby quilts using a serger when I can. I found a video on The Quilt Show website that I thought would be interesting to try. It makes a reversible quilt that looks very easy and sturdy for a baby blanket. If you want to watch the video, it's under the Bernina video's icon on The Quilting Show.