Has anyone quilted with a serger? I see ads for doing this and I wondered about it. Tell me what you know. Thanks

I can't wait to see the responses on this. i have owned a serger for better than 20 years and used it for all sorts of things. Never has it occured to me to use it in quilting. As far as I can tell it can be used to sew the blocks together, but why use all that thread unless you have thin fabric that might fray? And if it is that thin, why put it into a quilt?

A denim quilt might be a good place to use it, especially for the one that reminds me of a Cathedral window. One thickness of denim from old jeans would make a great quilt with all those little circle edges folded back.

I am interested in what this new technique is all about. Teach me and others so we can give it a try. Does anyone have a link???

June

I have made Kaye Wood's 6 Hour Quilt. Although I do not have a serger, it came out fine. http://www.kayewood.com/onlinecat/6_...uilt_book.html

piney

I find this mind boggling too. That's an awful lot of thread to waste just to speed up seaming, I think I'll stick to my sewing machine for quilts.

Besides, at serger speeds, I'd never be able to sew a straight line. LOL

I have used it to piece duvet covers where the customer didn't want a batting and backing - they just wanted patchwork, and the serger made a good durable finished edge. It really was fast, but it's much harder to match points and corners correctly. It works for tablecloths, too, or patchwork aprons and skirts - anything that you don't want to put a back on.

I have also used it when we made charity quilts. Nursing homes and orphanages love the washability of doubleknit quilts - they can wash them in the super-hot water they require for sanitary purposes and they never fade or shrink or get holes even if they have to be bleached. We serged the tops and used medium loft battings and whatever we had for backings. Some were tied, but machine quilting made them more sturdy.

I know they have patterns for them ....try Nancy'sNotions.com...I think that is right....or EleanorBurns.com....It does it all in one fell swoop.

Clotilde.com They have several patterns for quilting with a serger. Good luck and have fun!

The tutorial that I've seen are done with at least a 4 spool. Much more modern than mine and again, why use up all that thread? I think I'll just stick to a regular machine.

I have made several quilts with the serger,it works well as long as you have a pattern with straight line stitching. My favorite is 'bricks', it goes together quickly, and there are no seam intersections - that's important with a serger. I have 4 threads, but if worried about weight, you coud use 3 threads. I like the speed. I am not a fan of denium quilts, but I think a serger would handle the heavy material better that a regular machine.

Hi,

I learned how to do it when I worked for a Bernina dealer. It is great for flip and sew methods. It used a lot of thread but serger thead is different and not any more expensive than regular sewing thread for the amount of work you can do with a spool. It is great for children's stuff and Linus quilts. You can do everything with a serger that you can do with a regular sewing machine except buttonholes. In the class I took we made a quilted pillow with a ruffle and a zipper. It was all done on the serger.

It's faster than a sewing machine, but it creates thicker seams that show up more on the right side AND they're much harder to quilt through. Might be ok if you're planning to machine quilt. I tried it ONCE!

Here's some patterns for serger quilts.

http://www.sewvac1.com/Library/serger_baby_quilt.htm
http://www.lindaleeoriginals.com/easypieces.htm
http://www.centralsewing.com/projects/FiresideQuilt.PDF
http://bunchofbloomers.com/pattern_quicktwin.shtml

My 6 Hour Quilt can be done on the serger (preferred) or a sewing machine; directions for both are included in the 6 Hour Quilt Book. Available at kayewood.com.

www.kayewood.com

Sondray,

Thanks for those web sites. I looked at all of them.

I don't like to wash my fabric first because of the fraying but I think if you serged all the edges first and then just pull out the staight stich and the rest of the thread will fall right off. That way you'd have no fraying. I should start doing that because what ever chemicals are on the fabric some times make me have asthma attacks.

:wink: OK, Make the Quilt as you go thingy then Instead of all that hand sewing go to the Back of the Top and Surge it .Works for me!!! Maybe someone else too, I never thought of it til Mother of Necessity Arrived on the Scene!!!

:wink: You could piece some of that ol, Doubleknit for those quilts for charity as well!!!

I like to serge around the quilt top before I put the binding on. This gives it a nice clean edge. I also serge my backing if it needs oiecing.

just found this link about using a serger

http://www.sergerplace.com/projects.html

When you're on youtube, type in
How to make a faux 3D cathedral window block.
I've made several of these for coasters = it is so easy, and also is a good way to use up scraps.

I took a class using the serger. We did a log cabin. It wasn't hard, but it was straight stitching. The quilt top is folded and in the cupboard . I haven't assembled the quilt to finish it.
By the way , the class was about 10 years ago.