Sergers........Tell me about them
 

I was never one to be intrigued by those machines until recently. I find myself being drawn to them more since seeing a show that was on PBS ad being used. What fasicnated me is one of the gals had one where she pulled all her threads together and with a push of a button it all threaded and pulled it through unlike what the other lady had where she threaded them one had a time and it seemed like it was a chore to do so.

As I recall the one that impressed me was the BabyLok Evolution. Can't remember what the other gal was using.

Guess what I want to know is do these run using a foot pedal or do they have some with a start/stop button. That woud be my main need is a start/stop button.

One of them also does all her quilting using a serger so my next quesion is how do they do so without using the cutting blade that trims fabric when they use a serger if they are using it for quilting.

I've also heard said some folks actually sew clothes on sergers but yet the only thing I've ever seen demonstrated is the straight feed and it stitching the edge of fabric while cutting the excess off.

I have the Babylock Evolve and got it because it threads with a swoosh. I don't use it as much as I should. Mainly if I make the gk's jammies I always serge the seams and any dresses or clothing I always use it but never have used it for my quilting. It is operated by foot pedal. You can raise the cutting blade out of the way so it won't cut.

I HAD to have one a few years ago. I found a used Singer Serger on Craigslist and I was gifted it for my birthday. I used it alot right after I got it because I made everyone in the free world pajama sets for Christmas that year! It is a bear to thread and it just drives me crazy! I have used it a couple times in the past 2 years but only when I sewed a fleece vest and some pajama bottons. About 8 months ago, I broke one of the needles while I was using it. It is now sitting on a shelf under my sewing table, still with the broken needle and now it is unthreaded because my quilt helper Lily pulled on the threads. I'll probably put it up on CL. I just don't use it enough.

I did see an episode of Sue Hausmann's America Sews where a guest made a serged quilt. I guess I wasn't inspired enough to drag mine out and try it!!

I'm a don't-know-a-thing-about-serger person ... so here for observation and education! :)

I sold my serger this year. It was a bear to thread, took a class and it was still a bear to thread. I hadn't used it for a couple of years and of course, couldn't remember how to thread it so I sold it. I think they have their place and Eleanor Burns had a series where she pieced with hers. I don't sew clothes anymore so I still can't remember why I bought it. Because I could I guess.

My Babylock threads the threads indididually, but automatically. It works with a foot pedal and I made a baby's christening dress with lace, tucks, the whole 9 yards on it. There are more expensive machines than mine and they might have a start/stop button. You need to email the serger companies with your questions or go to the dealerships and have demonstrations. I wouldn't be without mine for regular sewing, mending, alterations (shortening jeans, etc.) Everything that I can do on a regular sewing machine I can do a little bit easier on the serger except intercepting curves. The next quilt that has blocks I am going to do on the serger.

The BabyLoc is the cadilac in threading from what I hear. Any serger in good repair can work, some with more and some with less elbow grease involved on the operator's part. I sat in on a class recently where a quilt as you go sandwich was made. I wore my Singer U234D out several years ago after many hours of overuse. LOL I am trying to save enough to purchase a new machine, probably a Bernina.

The strips to be quilted were layered so that they opened out after being serged with the serged seam inside.I am going to try to replicate the technique with my home sewing machine.'

I absolutely love my serger. But, I was sewing clothes long before I quilted.
I have a Viking 3/4 thread serger, not really fancy...I thread it myself. It's easy once you've done it a time or two, and if you can tie a skinny knot, it's possible to just feed the new thread thru if you want to change colors. I only have a foot pedal...have never seen one with the start/stop like sewing machines, but, I honestly have never looked for that feature so it may exist and I am just not aware of it.
I couldn't sew knits without it. It makes such a nice finish on garments...helps make them look more professional, and makes a nice sturdy seam on kids clothes. Pretty much every piece of clothes I sew I serge the edges of each part unless the seam will be enclosed.
Nancy Zieman has a "Serge and Merge" quilt--I will try to find the link to the video.

I sew used to sew tons of clothes, made alot of my last daughters. I still do some but I never used a serger. I would zig zag all my seams edges though...still do with clothes and they look professional. I could never afford one or I rather buy fabric. Just saying your sewing machine can do it to with an extra step!! lol or maybe I don't know what I'm missing!

I have a cheap White serger that I bought several years ago at Hancock Fabrics, and had a h--- of a time learning to thread it. It came with a cd and I would look and look at that until I finally got it. I do like to use to for finishing seams on certain articles. I've never oiled it or changed the cutter. Don't even know how to oil it. Guess I need to look in the manual re: that. Anyone know about oiling it?

I also use mine when I make clothing. In fact, I'm looking to upgrade one of these days and get one that flatlocks so I can put the professional looking hems in knits. I DO use my serger around the outside of blocks that I am appliqueing. It sure keeps the fraying under control. I also serge around the edge of my quilts before binding, again for fray and string control.

Sash, oiling a serger is even more important than oiling a sewing machine because the serger does so many more stitches per minute. On mine, there are just two oiling spots, both underneath the machine, where the round rods slide back and forth through thingies with holes (two places where parts rub together). It's important to brush out or vacuum out lint before oiling.

I used my serger a couple of times to make a quilt. Personally don't care for so much extra thread in the seam; makes the seams bulkier. I have seen intricate quilts done on a serger using strip piecing, but it takes expertise.

The real value of a serger to me (assuming the serger has differential feed, which most do) is its ability to sew knits without stretching them out of shape. So much better than a sewing machine for this! However, since I rarely use knits in quilting, it's not that useful to me for quilting.

I saw an episode of Fons and Porter where the guest made a strip quilt with ruffles entirely on the serger. It was so cute - made me want to go out and buy one of the new ones.

I have had a serger for many years, I am on my 4th! I started with an inexpensive Juki, upgraded to a nicer one, then to the top of the line Viking Husky 930 and was very happy for a long time (tough to learn to thread, but after learning ALWAYS thread top looper first, then bottom looper, then needles) I did ok. Then I fell in love with the Babylock Extrodinaire!!

FOOT PEDAL INFO,

FOOT PEDAL INFO (sorry got cut off) I am assuming you have issues with your feet, so why couldn't you put the foot pedal up on the table and push it with your hand? I have done this when working on a tall table and barstool, where I couldn't reach the floor. Could have stood up but where's the fun in that?! Linda

When my sister passed away, her husband gave me her serger. We are starting to make friends. I love the way it gathers as you go for doll clothes. Receiving blankets are a snap to make with the serged seams. I don't use it alot but when I do I like it.

ill tell you what i know- sergers are a wondeful contraption!! they sew, they cut, whats not to love!
BUT- dont get the cadillac of machines like the baby lock with the jet air threading, ive read about it, and most complaints are with that type of serger, that if the air goes out, you cant thread it..well..fer cryin out loud.
i bought my brother on amazon.com just before christmas, for $198.00- FREE SHIPPING! do yourself a favor, dont go for the high end stuff, jus cuz it would be nice to have, do your homework on all the models, brother, janome, whatever. find one thats in your price range too, i know the vikings are waaaaay overpriced. even if it doesnt have all the bells n whistles you want, sometimes a compromise is good!! good luck!
katz

There also may be conversion kits that could adapt one over.

Nancy Zieman did a 3 part series recently on using your serger. Episodes 2514, 2515, 2516
http://www.wpt.org/sewingwithnancy/sewing.cfm
I have 2. A Bernina bought at the thrift store "as is" for $30. It just needed to be oiled and purrs along beautifully now. I keep it threaded with black thread. The second is a little bit newer Singer. Got it at an end of the weekend garage sale for $3. Just too good of a deal to pass up. Nothing wrong with that one. So this one stays threaded with white. I don't use either one often, but they are nice to have for some things. I serged the edges of the fabric leaders on my quilt frame. Serged the edges of my muslin I use in cheese making.

I have one of those Brothers with the jet air threading. I would NEVER own anything else!!!!!! Can't repeat that often enough. I use it all the time. Best invention since sliced bread!!!!! Don't buy anything else. It's worth every penny it cost.

I am on my second serger. The first was a Bernina one and it was harder to thread. The problem being if one of the threads broke or ran out you had to start from scratch on all four. I traded it in on a more advanced Bernina several years ago and the rest is history. I make at least 20 Linus quilts a month and I make them pillowcase style. I sew the top, back and batting together with the wrong sides out with the serger and then turn the pillowcase like sandwhich right side out and machine quilt it. The serger assures me a neat even small seam all around the inside of the quilt. It is also great for garmet sewing and a necessity for knits. If you are working with a material that ravels excessively running a row of serger stitches around it will solve that problem. The only drawback is that if you use it for a seam it cuts off the excess so you can not pick it out and make it larger again. There are a lot of neat things you can do with a serger including making lace. If you take a class or talk with a dealer they can tell you all of the details. I would have a problem sewing without mine.

Those of you who own the Baby Lock Evolution 8-Threas Serger Overlock Machine what is the price of it and what all comes with it?

Thanks so much for posting the link for sergers w/ nancy. I thought I had saved it , thanks.

I guess no one owns the BabyLock Evolution or knows the price of it since no one responded to my query on price. That's ok! Today I am going to a sew shop that is an authorized Baby lock dealer and hopefully they will have one to show me and quote me a price.

I had that air-threading BabyLock on my wish list, but jeepers, if the air mechanism breaks, how do you thread your serger?

I have a really low-end Brother (which I think was manufactured by the same company as BabyLock) that I absolutely love. I can almost thread it with my eyes closed - the first two sergers I had were enough to make you pull your hair out. So frustrating! And if you didn't get it set exactly right, the dern thread would break - you'd have to start all over. This one is a piece 'a cake. :) Converting to the rolled hem stitch and back takes five seconds. It's more difficult to convert to the coverstitch look - but I've read that you do better to buy a machine made to do coverstitch if you want to make a lot of t-shirt-type things.

I trim and serge the edges of my quilts when they're quilted and ready for the borders or binding to be applied. Such a nice edge and a good guideline for sewing on the next step.

I made a whole quilt top on the serger once - it was a lot of fun and since it was for a toddler, I bet it will last a long time. The back of that quilt was so neat and clean that I thought about maybe doing another top with colored threads so that all the serging shows on top. That could be pretty. :)

If I ever manage to buy the air-threaded serger, I would still keep this one around as a backup. Have fun shopping and I hope you find the new toy that works just right for you. :)

I've done quite a bit of research on this model and have read no such report. The sites I visited that had customer reveiws were all 5 our of a 5. It also has 25 years warranty, 10 years on parts, 5 years on electrical and 1 year labor.

I went today to a sew shop where they are the authorized retailers for the machine and the gal that demonstrated it to me just retired a few months ago from Babylock and is now working for this show shop to demonstrate those machines and more. With a 10 year warranty on parts replacement if something like what you mention happens it will be replaced.

With all this 8-threader does what's not to like. If something as mentioned here happens the manufacturer will make good on it.

I did alot of searching on this model and I have yet to find one negative report. I didn't buy it today but will be doing so in a couple months or so only because I like to pay cash for such things so I have to get my cash together to do so.

I did however leave there with a Rowenta Steamer iron machine and some fabric. :-) You can sew using one thread or eight which is combining serger and over stock together.

After her demonstration of all the features and what you can do with it she showed me some quilts that were quilted on it and also ruffles put on the quilt with that machine.

She told me that folks seem to think you can't put button or zippers and while it is true you can't do buttons you can do some zippers. She showed me a sample they had just done a couple days ago in one of there serger class putting in a zipper in a mini bag they had made.

There are so many things you can do with this serger that it puts to shame any sewing machines on the market as well as other sergers.

So how much were they asking for them?

Mine was $2500 with about 40 feet in a special package. I got it at Ruthies Notions, in Florida at a Nancy Zieman show, and could not go home to AL without it! Like I said, I have the Viking Husky 930 and love it, but I absolutely am devoted to this one! I would sell the Husky, but may keep it just threaded up for utlity. Linda

The shop I went to wants $3900 new or buy floor model for 2900 plus tax which comes out to $3100 and some change. I'm looking around to get it for alot less than $3900 let alone $3100. I think I can do better. To save $1500 or so I'll drive where ever to do so.

I was pretty sure last night I saw it somewhere online for $1800 which was a sale with $1000 off and unfortunately I failed to save where I saw it. I was shocked when this lady said $3900. I figured more around $2500 for a shop like that since I had seen it online for $1800.

Wish Baby Lock allowed them to sell them online and not just in there shops.

I'm in Georgia near Savannah/Garden City which is where this one was I saw today.

Now I could see paying $3500 or even $3900 if it gave you a bundle to go with it.

I was looking a couple hours ago online and near as I can tell it can be gotten for between $2500 to as high as $3900.

I'm a patient person when it comes to such things and it's just a matter of time until I find it at the price I want it for. At $3900 that is double what I was expecting to pay for it. I have the money to buy it at that price however I choose not to. Its not like its something I must have.

I love my serger for home dec and garments. I've had one for 20+ years. It is definitely a specialized piece of equipment, and it isn't good for everything. I use it all the time for rolled edges on napkins, receiving blankets, and the edges of ruffles. I use the regular 4 thread overlock for almost all knit fabrics I saw and pretty much all the children's play clothes I do. There is nothing better than a serger for knits! I also use the special elastic application foot to apply elastic to crib sheets I do for a charity.

However I don't think I would use it for quilting though. A serger uses 3-4 threads and it makes a thick seam. It is also harder than might be obvious to get a perfect seam allowance! I also haven't ever seen one that uses a start button, just the foot pedal. That doesn't mean there aren't any, but I think it would be hard to control the fabric and use a button at the same time.

Summary: I love my serger, but it is a special purpose machine.

Pam

Best time to buy a serger
 

Dear Clsurz, I saw your post about buying the Babylock Evolution. I just attended a 3 day Serger Workshop held at a local Babylock dealer here in CA. We used the Evolution.....a dream machine. I own an older Evolve. I love my Evolve, and the Evolution is a newer and improved version. The evolution has the Wave stitch (nice for decorative edges), improved safety features, improved lighting, and you can thread both loopers at the same time. It also has an improved jet air threading....a motorized whoosh! Generally speaking the dealer will have very good package prices at these events. Our dealer offered the Evolution 8 thread macine, the workbook, the inspiration guide, 16 foot pkg, a huge decorative thread assortment in a nice case (retail value $450.), additional Gold Standard warranty of 3more years, and $1000.00 Trade-in allowance .....all for $3092.00. If you just wanted the machine, extra warranty, and 6 feet, the price was $1999.00 I would recommend the books though, as they really contain great instructions. My advice to you is to watch for a sewing/serging class or multi-day event sponsored by a Babylock dealer in your area. These events are held for the express purpose of educating the public about their products in the hopes of getting new customers. The number one reason people don't use their sergers is the difficulty they have threading them and getting the tensions right......Babylock has solved these problems....easy peasy threading and auto tension. They are worth every penny!!! Good luck!

I agree the idea of the airflow system would be wonderful....but the PRICE !!!
I have a Frister Rossman that I bought about 5 years ago. The base opens up completly showing all areas so threading is reasonably easy. In honesty I wonder how often people change their threads....If I need to change the threads I take off all tension and cut the threads and tie small knots from the new colour thread and feed through the feeders then I just have to thread the needles. I reckon that takes me the whole of two minutes.
I also do dressmaking and some upholstry so use it regularily....I even put in zips and piping.
Mine cost £250 which is about $360..........
If I was paying $3000+ it would have to make me breakfast in bed for at least a year as well !
My honest advice is to anyone looking at getting a serger is see if anyone will let you have a go first....the speed on these things can be pretty intimidating and not for everyone.... which brings me to the footpedal. I'm not so sure that a start stop button would make me feel totally happy as I would have to take my hand off the fabric to press the button to stop.....as it has a cutting blade it would be really easy to go through just that bit more fabric than you wanted.......anyway these are just personal thoughts but I hope they might help.

There is an attachment for the Bernina sewing machine that allows your domestic machine to work like a serger. It's less than $200 and is great. It's called the Bernina Sidecutter Serger Attachment. Ask if you can try it at a Bernina dealer. I'm happy with mine.

I agree! Reason I did not buy it yesterday. Moore's Sew in CA has a youtube video. Guy was doing a demo to a bunch of folks and he presented a bundle for machine, books, and 16 feet. Although he did not name the price on that piece one knew that worst case sceniro would probably be around $3900 for all of the bundle or perhaps even less.

I've put out feelers in JAX, FL and other parts of GA and will check SC, NC and AL as well and states along the eastern board. It would be more than worth it to travel to any of these to save $1000 or more and since I enjoy traveling it would be like going on a hunt for me. LOL

I have a Baby Lock Evolve and it threads with a swoosh as you describe. However, each of the loopers have to be threaded individually. It is the later models that do it all in one go. So far as I have seen, they are operated with a foot pedal.I do half of my sewing on the overlocker and I think it is a wonderful tool.

I used an industrial one when I worked at a shirt factory and loved it. Haven't ventured past that.

This Baby Lock Evolution will allow you to use only one thread. It is an 8-thread machine with 4 for serging and 4 for overlock. The lady demoed using one thread and up to the eight threads (serging and overlock all at once). She said the only thing it won't do are buttons. It will sew, quilt, and has even done zippers using the serger (although it does not do all types of zippers). I saw first hand the beautiful quilted tops they had on display using the serger.

Perhaps all other sergers might not do quilting well but this baby certainly can. I've never been one to like sergers that is until I saw this one demonstrated first hand.

Regarding start/stop button no sergers as of yet have those but she alluded that is something in the works for babylock in the future. The lady retired from baby-lock less than six months ago and now works part-time at this shop demonstrating all there baby lock machines and others they sell.

I've seen pictures online with folks using there sergers and even locally here and again saw it yesterday at that shop and the work is awesome on it.

I guess on gets what they pay for. This machine feeds various thicknesses of fabric with ease.

Yes you are correct. I mentioned it to the lady and she chuckled and told me my TV was playing tricks on me and showed me how it was done individally. There are no brands yet that do the swoosh as I originally indicated. LOL

Same here. They are indispensible for hemming jeans and slacks as well. Make for quick and easy finished seams!! I will always have a serger in my sewing room and my dream is the Babylock Evolve!!