Serger - your opinions
 

I'm taking the side seams apart on baby items to embroider on them. Would a serger be a good investment? What kind?

my serger just bit the dust, so i'm looking to see what everyone says about a new serger.
a serger will be a costly venture to sew up side seams, if you want a serger, get one, but not just to sew up a 6" seam. any machine can do it. a straight seam with a zig zag will cover the raw seams. good luck!

I have a Bernina now but started off with a basic Brother that worked perfectly fine. I invested in a serger only because I've made a lot of clothes. As Lynnie said, they can be expensive. They're also generally a pain in the neck to thread.

I have a Janome. It was a lower-end model, but it suits my needs perfectly. Not sure what you are looking for, but all I can say is please make sure it has the color coded thread instructions on the front panel when you open it up. I can't tell you how important proper threading is in those puppies to get them to sew properly :)

I have a Bernina 800DL I bought new in 2004. Shortly after I bought it I had to take it in for service, as the belt slipped. I haven't had it serviced since. It has 2 oil points & that's it. Not too hard to thread. It's color coded for easy threading. I use it a lot & have sewn several layers of fabric on it at a time. It sits on the end of my sewing cabinet, ready to use. It's great for sewing stretchy fabrics, like knits. I also serger jeans fabric with no hesitation. This machine is a work horse.

As far as a good investment it all depends on how much & what type of sewing you do. You may be able to get a good used one at a Bernina dealer.

Look over the stitches on your machine. There may be one that is overlock. If not then do a straight stitch & go back & do a zig zag, like Lynn said.

I have a surger but rarely use it. I went on a class with my brother ( long story why he came). He did very well threading and sewing. Myself and the other ladies had a terrible time getting use to the threading and different sewing. On the way home asked why he could use it so easily. He said he just looked at it as a machine and had no problem with sewing because he wasn't thinking about a sewing machine. When I did use it I did make and finish off some beautiful items.i shared the cost of purchase and use with my sister in law. Both our lives have changed and cloth sewing doesn't enter into it.

I am on my third serger (an upgrade) and still find great uses for it although I "retired" from sewing clothes and now enjoy quilting to the hilt :). Now the serger is used for flatlocking large pieces of leftover batting together, sometimes finishing off the quilt top before attaching the binding, piecing backings with large pieces of fabrics and so on. Love it.

I have a BERNINA 2000DE which I have had since the 80's sometime. I really don't remember when I got it. I used it for ten years or so to make window fabrications (home based business to put our three sons through college). It has had such hard use that the casing has yellowed. I use it a lot as quilttiger has said. It is color coded but is a bit difficult to thread-so I tie the looper threads and loosen the tension disks and pull them through. Rarely have to start from the spool to thread. I made one quilt with it but did not care for the way the stitches laid in the finished quilt. But, I use it a lot. I like to finish baby blankets with it and use specialty threads in the loopers-nice finish. I take it in for service from time to time. I do not think that the overlock stitches on my sewing machine are as nice as the serger finish. If you buy one, look for uses for it because there are many.

Mine makes a good door stop.......

Both of my 30+ year old sergers recently bit the dust, so I had been doing a lot of research on them. I didn't nees to spend an extra $900 to thread it as I have no issues with that, and determined that a machine with the coverstitch seemed more hassle to convert for small seams and change back. I ended up getting a Juki 654 DE in the Pearl line. It's a workhorse and under $400. I got mine at the Sewing Expo, but is available both at stores and online for good prices with no shipping fees. My others were old metal Babylocks, but I Never had a problem with them!