Love2Craft

For some reason the upper looper appears to thread...but doesn't appear to stitch. At first it was kind of irregular but now it's not included at all...any ideas?

NJ Quilter

I am no serger expert by any stretch but it sounds like the tension might be off on one or more of your threads?? Or a bit of thread/fuzz/lint somewhere in the thread path?

When I bought my used serger I took a class as I'd never sewn with one previously. Best piece of advice in that class was to have a notebook by your side every time you use your serger and note what your tension settings were before AND after each project. Along with type of fabrics used and the project itself. Always write down your starting point and always return your machine to those settings upon completion of your project.

Other than that I have no other suggestions but I'm sure someone else will be along soon with better suggestions.

Good luck.

Maggie_Sue

The Imagine has auto tension so that can't be it???? Is is threaded correctly??? New needle that often solves many problems???

quilttiger

I have an Imagine serger. so let's see....it has two threads on the left for the needles. The next spool is for the upper looper and the last one is for the lower looper. If the stitches are not happening, take a look at the threads. The chances are that one or more threads may have skipped or did not go through on one or more points on the machine. I suspect it is one of the needle threads. Since the upper and lower looper threads are automatically threaded through the serger, the needle threads may be the cause due to the fact they are threaded manually.

If this is not a problem, a trip to the BabyLock dealer is a good way to go.

maviskw

I broke the left needle on my serger. I called the repair guy and asked what kind of needle needs to go in there. He said just an ordinary sewing machine needle. So I tried to put one in. He must have known I would never be able to do that myself. I wasted a lot of time on that before I gave up.

quilttiger

Aw, I am sorry to hear that. The repair guy is correct about using an ordinary sewing machine needle. Because of the tight space in the needle area, it can be tricky to put in a needle, especially since the needles are kinda close to each other. Try using one of these gadgets for holding a sewing machine needle in place while you install it. Most needles have a flat side, and the gadget's opening has a flat side. This makes it easier to make sure the needle is facing the right direction while it is being put in.

emmy

I, also, use a dentist's mirror to see exactly which needle hole to aim for.

maviskw

Thanks for the advice Quilttiger and Emmy. A mirror may help, but where do I find a gadget to hold the needle? I've never heard of that. My serger is more than 25 years old, and I don't remember ever having broken a needle before.
I was using a needle nose-pliers and a long tweezers, but that was not good enough. My repair guy is about 30 miles away, but I'm going that way in about two weeks, so I'll wait.

Phyllis nm

is your needle in backwards?

maviskw

Thanks, but no. I made sure the needle was "trying" to go in with the flat side to the back. I had asked the guy about that, too, and he said "flat side to the back".