Pam B

I have had a serger for about 8 years...not a fancy/expensive one. It was given to me by a very dear friend before she lost the battle with breast cancer. My problem...I am scared to death of it!!! I have used it in one quilt...actually took a class at my LQS to make a serger quilt. It was wonderful...I liked using it...but I need someone knowledgeable right there because it intimidates me. Likewise, I now have my late mother-in-law's embroidery machine....and I am scared to try it. Any advice?

cutebuns

My advise to you Pam is to stop and think of what you are the most afraid of? and go from there. You took a step forward with the class. Now, I don't see where you are on your profile, though I am thinking that you are not in my area, if you were, I would be happy to sit down with you and play with you. If there is anyone near that wants to volunteer, great, if not, I can try and help all I can from here, (though that is hard sometimes) with a few pictures etc it might be easier than sitting down with the manuel. I do serging and machine embroidery, and so do a lot of the other members of the board, there are a lot of multitalented people here. Maybe start your own thread or PM me or others that use the equipment, when you are ready to delve into the wonderful world or Serging and Machine Embroidery.

GailG

I think the most "difficult" thing about the serger is threading it. But once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake. I don't know anything about the embroidery machine so I would be very nervous about beginning to use one on my own. Find a buddy that can sit with you to carry you through the hard or scary parts. Get comfortable with threading it. [I used white thread on everything for a long time before I learned to rethread. :lol: ] Practice. Practice. Practice.

Mousie

if it's been sitting that long, you might want to give it a drink of oil.


Sergers can be the greatest thing, if it is YOUR thing. I like sewing with all kinds of fabrics, and there's nothing better for those loosely woven things. Mine is I guess, old. Curious about the improvements that have been made to newer ones.
Do some of them really suck the thread in, like a vacuum cleaner to thread itself?

cutebuns

Yes QC, it really does that, there is also no tension disks or different plates for it to do a rolled hem or anything like that either.

It takes me about a min and a half to rethread the whole thing from scratch.

cutebuns

This is the Babylock Imagine. I guess named for imagining all that you can do with it. My wee one loves to play with it, though I thread it for her.

jacquemoe

Have you posted your serged quilts??? I want to see them :D

GailG

Oh cutebuns, is that one of those nice sergers that sucks up the thread for you? (a self-threader?) My sergers is an old-timey. Got it in 87. It's a b.... to thread. :oops:

Barbm

I have one, still in the box, on a shelf in the laundry room. Maybe someday I'll take it out and look at the box. he he.

cutebuns

Gail it is, you just stick about on inch of thread in the hole, connect the tubes,(press a button and turn the wheel to line it up) then press the leaver and it blows the thread through the looper, repeat for the other side as well and you now have the loopers threaded, easy as anything, there is no tension disks either, so threading the top threads are a matter of following the arrows and then there is a needle threader as well, no more with the tweezers etc making sure that this is over this and under than and coming out in the right are, one of the best things is as well if I break a thread, doesn't matter what order I thread so can just rethread and continue, some machines are very particular that way. No more tying ends and running them through, rolled hem is remove the one needle, turn one nob, change stitch length and start sewing. and since there is no tension on it, you can go from three 4 layers of denim straight to organza and not touch anything but the foot peddal, was it more than the juki I also have, yes by a lot, but for ease of use, it is worth it if you can afford it. (when I bought it they said I can serge with ribbon, I want to try it but haven't had a chance yet. )

Barbm, just mail it to me and I will foster it for a while.