I have a White that I bought several years ago for under $300 and I love it...used it alot this Christmas for pillowcases and it works great for my cross stitch fabric edges. I also did not invest alot of money the first time but would not be without one again and this one does all I need it to do.

I have any old Singer, probably close to 20 yrs old.
I do use it for quilting in so many different ways. One is when finishing the edge of a baby quilt. Holds up so much better with all those washings. I use it for clothing of course but my favorite way of using my serger is to quilt as you go.
Simplest way to explain that is if you layer 5 inch strips (whatever length you want) of the backing strip, batting and top, sew all three together up one of the long edges. Now layer the next three strips in this manner. On the unsewn long edge place the backing strip right sides together. On the top layer place the top strips rightfacing each other with the batting on top. Both long edges should match up. Sew down the unsewn long edge. Fold out the second strip row you just added to the first section, press. And repeat. When you have 5 or 6 long strips sewn together sew the last long unfinished edge together. Only the top and bottom edge will be unfinished. This is when you can add binding and finish it up. Hope this was clear, I'm usually better at showing the pieces as we go along.
I love using my serger and to be honest it's my oldest machine. All the others I've upgraded over the years for this reason or that. Borrow a friends or rent one and you will be hooked.

I have my second serger and wonder how I ever did without one. I enjoyed the first one except the threading was a bear and thread breakage meant unthreading the whole thing and rethreading in the order the directions prescribed.

Now I have a Babylock Imagine and love-love-love it. If a thread breaks I only have to rethread that one!

Debra, I have one and don't use it very much, I wouldn't go over $500 for one until you see how you like it and see how much you will use it. They are more for finish work but you can make a quilt on it from start to finish. Cookie

I love my serger. It's a Babylock Evolve; extremely easy to thread. I use mine a lot. The Sew & Vac near me frequently has free serger classes and they are going to have serger project classes this year. Sometimes I use it instead of my sewing machine. The only drawback is that this serger is expensive, about $2,000. I got a good deal because I traded in my Husqvarna Viking Serger.

I was given an inexpensive serger by my hubby years ago when my grandkids were little. I would make them each 7 pairs of knit pj's for winter and 7 for summer..I have 11 grandchildren so you can imagine how much other stuff I ever got done. It was wonderful using the serger then, even for the ribbing on the neck, sleeves and ankles. I have not used it in a few years now since they are all grown up and want store bought pjs. My FIL used to have me "repair" his favorite bright orange bath towel as it fell apart. I know it sounds silly but he lived with us for 4 years with Alzheimers and he would watch me sew his towel with a smile on his face. Sometimes I think he would rip the edges just so he could sit and watch me sew for company.

I just bought a serger to replace one I had for about twenty years. So far I have only made pillow cases with it and hemmed my husband's psnts. Recently I ran across an Eleanor Burns Video where she made a Dresden plate quilt. The seams were done with a serger.
http://quiltinaday.com/theater/misc/misc-dresden.html

I have a Babylock serger, and absolutely love it. I have had it for about 5 years. The thing I really love about it is that it is sel-threading, both the loopers and the needles. Lots of other features, too. But when buying, I wanted the self-threading model. Also is self-adjusting for the tension. Look at Babylock if you are seriously considering getting a serger.

I own a Bernina and absolutely love it. It's over 15 years old now and is so easy to use. No problems.

I use mine all the time for whatever works. Last night, my
Granddaughter, Daughter and I did the thrift store adventure. We had a great time. I found a box of fat quarters - 20 in all - for $5. Beautiful fabric and will use it to make happy quilts. Coming from the thrift store, the first thing I did was serge the edges and throw it all in the wash. Had fun with it.

I have always wanted a serger so I could explore the different things it can do that a sewing machine can't for sewing clothes and accessories. I just bought a Brother 1034D at Walmart online for $199. The shipping to my home was $0.97. It comes with 2 good DVD's and tweezers, different feet, etc. It has good reviews for such an inexpensive machine. It's easy to thread, has differential feed, you don't have to change the plate to do a rolled hem, and it has a free arm. I'm excited to explore the possibilities.

I have 2, one Bernina & a Janome, love both of them. I keep one threaded with dark colors & one with lightcolors. I use it for all sorts of clothes, sweatshirts, t-shirts, nightgowns, dog clothes, table coverings. I took a babylock course a couple of years ago where the teacher showed ways to use a serger with quilting and it was amazing how fast blocks were made & even 3 d ones. I also make lots of shrugs & use them to finish the edges. I made a dressy jacket with nothing but the serger & entered it in the local county fair & won a first & best of adult clothing. So they can be quite useful. I think it just depends on how much you are encouraged to try using one.

Debs :thumbup:

Quite a few years ago when I was in 2nd grade Santa brought me a White serger for 4-H sewing. It finally died and my mom and I bought a new Bernina serger over the summer for $700. I love it. I used it most of Sunday to make a curtain for my sewing room and a curtain to hang in my kitchen as a room divider to my back hallway. It works so great for projects like that. I also have a pair of yoga pants that have shrunk and I need to wack off and turn into crop yoga pants.

As I think about this I just finished cutting squares of ogdensburg to embroider and it is fraying like mad. I might do a quick serge around there edges.

I had one for years that I hated. Then I splurged and bought the Babylock Air threaded version and absolutely love it. It threads and sets the tension...wonderful. It was $1500 and is well worth it if you sew lots. I find it actually makes you want to use it!

I have one and use it frequently but not for quilting per se. It is great for finishing the inside seams of purse and totes. Sometimes I can eliminate the separate lining and attach inner pockets directly to the outer layer. Use it more for clothing though, I must admit. Kaye Wood does have a great pattern for a quick quilt made completely on the serger which is wonderful for kids or a charity project. I think it is called the 5 hour quilt. I have also seen patterns in the Clotilde catalog for serger quilts, but they all appear to just be variations on the Kaye Wood original idea. I can't imagine using a serger for quilting requiring precision piecing, but if you just want "sturdy" for play quilts or picnic throws, it would be ever so much faster. If you have no other use for one outside of quilting, it would be quite an expense though.

I have a Bernina 800 and use it alot when making Kay Wood's 6 Hour quilts. The nice thing about this pattern is you are putting the 3 layers together at once and ready for binding.

I HAVE A BABY LOCK ,AND HAVE USED IT ALOT WHEN I WASMAKING MY OWN CLOTHES AND SEWING FOR OTHERS, BUT WHHENI STARTED QUILTING ,THERES NOTHING THAT YOU USE IT FOR IN THAT .I STILL USE IT ONCE IN AWILE IF I AM MAKING DRAPES OR FINISHING A HEM ON SLACKS.

I have had my serger for over 18 years ( a mother's day gift from my kids) and I love it. Last winter I made a Christmas quilt and used all flannels and sewed it on the serger. It sewed it and bound the seams and the quilt turned out really nice. I have also made napkins with the rolled hem and they looked great. I don't use my serger as much as I do my machine of course, but it is nice to know it is there if I need it.

I have a Bernina Funlock (bought in 1992 for around $700) and it has really taken a beating. I have used it sewing costumes for the high school musicals (picture 70 pairs of tights for the guys!), for my family to make clothes and lately for piecing quilts. I love that the seams come out so clean and will use it until it dies! I have really only had it serviced a handful of times. I would say that I use my serger for about 80% of my sewing.

I have one. Havent used it much since the grands got grown but I"m going to use mine to make fleece hats and mittens for the homeless. We just went through the Artic Blast and hats and gloves were in great need and they would be easy on the surger.

I don't have one, would love to someday.

I've had mine for about 14 years. I wanted it because I made most of my "work" clothes at that time and wanted a professional finished look. While I have not used it much lately, I have made seasonal napkins which I like to use at dinners. One of the first quilt classes that I took was a Bow-Tie Serger quilt class (and the project is even finished!). I feel it has paid for itself.

I have a Huskylock and love it. It's great for hemming overlong sweatshirts, sewing purses,etc. I also saw a show recently where Eleanor Burns stitched her strips with a serger. She also pressed them with a "press", not an iron!

I'm on my second one, bought first one about 25-30 years ago OMG used it all the time when kids were growing up. Now I use it on flannel quilts (don't know if I should or not, but I do)
I also like to go around the outside of all my quilts with it - it makes it easier -for me- to put the binding on. :lol:

I have an older Bernina 334 that is great - had never used one (actually had never even seen one!) when I bought it over 20 yrs. ago, and price then was $1000. Now it is known as a classic, is still great, and now on Ebay sells for a little over $300 usually. It is known for its great and easy rolled hem!

About 2 years ago, I bought an Imagine Wave, and I love it! Actually any Imagine serger by Babylock is simply wonderful!Threading upper and lower loopers is by jet-air threading, and there is no (I mean NO) tension problem with the Imagine. Years ago, I first tried the jet-air threading with an Eclipse and bought it used and had no problems with the jet-air with that one either!!

I also bought an Evolve, but sold it on Ebay to get the Imagine, for I found I did not need 8 spools of thread and did not like changing from the coverstitch to the serger stitch.

Since I just began quilting, I don't use either serger for quilting, but it is great to be able to finish my seams in clothes and doll clothes and to cut off pants and serge the edge before using the blindstitch to hem them on my sewing machine!! A serger makes my seams in jackets and clothes look more professional!


Good luck! Lulie

I have a patient who had two. She gave me one.

I haven't used it yet, though I would love to have a few patterns to try it.

Does anyone know where I might buy a book of patterns for sergers?

I have a Bernina serger, which cost over $800.00. I used it often for clothes, curtains, making ruffles, placemats, etc. But since my main sewing is quilting, it is used rarely. If I did not have one already, I feel I could get along without it. A cheaper model may be just what you need. Good luck in your decision.

About 20 years ago, I got a Simplicity Serger for about $500 from the fabric store I worked at. When it's working properly, I love it, especially for large things like curtains and such. If I break a thread or have to change colors, I can never seem to get it rethreaded right. I get frustrated and pack it away. It's gotten very little use in the 20 years I've owned it. I would not get another unless I could afford the self threading kind.

I've been thinking about getting one for quite a while now, but don't really need it. I have 2 small grandkids that I could sew for, so maybe need to get serious about getting one. Thanks for all your info. Lindalou

quick tip- I tie the new color to the one and pull the thread through then you only have to thread the needle.

I have a Baby Lock (about 15 years old) and that how I was
taught to thread it. I used to make doll clothes with lots of
ruffles and I used the serger for that. Made a bunch of
ruffles in no time. I don't make doll clothes any longer, just
use it for finishing edges on clothing. Haven't used it for
quilting but have been told its good for finishing the edges on
flannel when you're using it for backing.

Catlady

hi there, i bought my serger b4 1990(i seem to remember), it was a Singer Quantamlock and i used it a lot. I sewed lots of kids clothes using only that. I also had a reg maching but preferred using the serger. I made tee shirts and used it to put ribbing on neck, sleeves and bottoms. Maybe you should try one out at Joannes before buying to see if you like it.

Have you tried Amazon.com? Or write to the maker of the
serger you got?

Carol W Here is a link to the stretch and sew patterns.

https://www.gmidesign.com/stretch/patterns.htm]https://www.gmidesign.com/stretch/patterns.htm[/url]

Also, look into the kwick sew patterns many of them are with the knits. The main pattern companies have stretch knit patterns as well.

I would suggest you look into a book about sewing with a serger. I have a few of them and it makes a difference when you know how to set up for different types of serging. The manual should tell you a few things about it, but a book has projects .

I have a serger and don't even use it, I only got it because it was someting to get, I'm more of a quilter and not a garmet sewer. :hunf:

I have a serger that I mostly use when sewing for the grandchildren, or for an attractive edging making receiving blankets. However when I took my first quilting class at a local quilt shop, the teacher recommended that we serge the long seams of quilt backings as it creates such a clean finish. That was the best tip I got out of that class! I've been doing backings that way ever since and am so pleased with the finished product. While not essential, a serger is handy to have:-)

Hi- I have 2 sergers...one for coverstitch and the other for most everything else. They are both Husqvarna Vikings 936's and are computerized with 23 different stitches. They do hems, cording, ruffles, rolled edges, etc. They are great for tableclothes, clothes, pillows...I even made a quilted tablerunner with mine. I don't feel the serger is good for piecing where you have to be conscience of that 1/4 inch and starting/stopping on a dime. Hope this helps:) / Lissa

Several good books and/or DVDs about serger available at the Sewing With Nancy website. She has an introductory one which I found very helpful, and I have since bought one of the "pattern" books which also is good. Her books have lots of clear pictures and well written directions.

Years ago when my children were small until about middle school, I made about all of their clothes. I used my serger constantly. The first serger I got was a Singer 5 thread. I was always having to refer to the manual about threading, even though I used it a lot. I got so frustrated sometimes. Then I bought a babylock that is self-threading for the loopers. Believe me, that makes all the difference in the world to me. Love it. It's great for making small rolled hems for napkins and tablecloths, and hemming. If I were just quilting and or doing embroidery, I would not have one.

Yes, I totally agree about the Imagine. That is what mine is and I never have tension problems. Threading is SO easy.

I have a Singer Babylock I got at walmart on sale for 150.
I like it for pilow covers!