What the difference between a serger and a sewing machine? Why would one need or want a serger?

A serger is an overlock machine, it finished the edges so that they don't fray, They come in different styles, I have a babylock Imagine,

Sergers are mostly used for garment sewing etc, there are some decorative applications as well,

What serging looks like

I used my serger to make a quilt using silky like fabric that frayed a lot. Really helps.

Many here serge the edges of their fabric before washing to stop raveling.

Cutebuns just did a tute on how to serge a quilt top :D

Some serge the edges of quilts instead of binding them too :D:D:D

The serger also trims the edge of the fabric as you sew, giving you a nice, straight edge. I serge around the outside edge of my quilts before putting on the binding. This trims the top/batting/backing all at once.

Besides garment, a serger is great for making things like napkins and pillowcases.

Hi
A serger will stitch, trim and finish the seam allowance all in one motion. It's great for fashion sewing and for working with fabrics that fray a lot, and can lend a decorative edging to your seams or sometimes for a hem or sleeve hem. I've seen some "ruffled" hems on tshirts etc made by purposely stretching the fabric as it goes through the serger, that sometimes look great...and sometimes not.

For quilting I would very rarely use it as it does add some bulk to the seams and if you ever have to undo/redo it's touchy since you have a lot more stitches to remove from that tiny seam allowance.

They can be very tough to thread, depending on the machine (I cheat and tie my thread ends together, pull them through until they get to the needle, then untie and thread the needle....saves a lot of work).

So if you do a lot of sewing other than quilting--- fashion, drapery etc it might be worthwhile. Otherwise probably not.

OK now my interest is peaked.

I have a Singer Ses 2000 all in one machine. It sews, serges, cross-stitches, auto punch, embroidery, photo stitching but have used it only for embroidering so far and got it for that feature as well as photo stitching and sewing but now I think I will play with it for serging and see what happens.

I use a Brother and a Janome for sewing/quilting.

I use my serger to make fleece blankets for project linus. I don't like to take the time to do the cut and tie nosew fleece blankets, so I put wrong sides together, serge the four sides with wild colored threads, and presto--done! I also use all of my leftover fleece to make cat and dog blankies for the animal shelters

I have the SES 1000 and it came with the "serger" foot, too - it trims off the excess fabric as it finishes the edge. But if you compare it to a serger, you won't really get a good idea of what a serger can do. The "serger" attachment is very slow compared to a dedicated serger and it doesn't give you the multiple threads for security and decoration that a serger will give you.

I used to wonder what on earth I needed a serger for - after all, I had zig-zag machines that could do overedge stitching and I had narrow rolled hem feet for hemming ruffles and sleeve edges and such.

Then I got a serger. A used one that only did three threads, and it was a BEAR to thread, but I was hooked! So I bought a used Babylock 400 and that was terrific, too but it had some defects that I couldn't fix and was also frustrating to thread, so after doing some research, I bought a Brother 1034D serger from walmart.com for about $190, I think. It's earned its keep and then some. It's SO fast, very easy to thread and clean and it does a lot of different stuff. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive for this model and if mine died suddenly, I would buy the exact same machine. :)

I made a bunch of rolled edge linen napkins, prepared lots of fabric for pre-washing, hemmed yards and yards of linen for curtains and bedskirts, finished the edges of all my quilts to prepare them for binding, serged a whole quilt top, made a bunch of doll clothes - sheesh, that thing is a wonder!! :)

When making the doll clothes, I drew the pattern pieces on the wrong side of the fabric, put two pieces right sides together and serged the pieces together wherever possible. After sewing the pieces together, I would serge the hems and/or waistbands in one long swipe. The tiny free arm is perfect for this. Then I could go in and do the elastic casings or neck openings with a sewing machine and scissors. Fewer small pieces to handle and finishing the edges is done at the same time as sewing.

If I ever get around to making a primitive quilt top with homespuns or a "shiny" quilt top with satins, I would choose a pattern that lends itself to serger sewing. No fraying - yippeeeee! :D

Have fun with that attachment, but if you love sewing and quilting, you will be doing yourself a huge favor if you invest in a serger.