Sergers
 

Does anyone use a Serger to piece a quilt? Is it ok to use a serger for attaching borders and binding even if the rest of the quilt is pieced with a regular machine?

I have sergers, but I usually use just a straight stitch with my regular machine to attach borders and bindings.

I have used a "long" stitch (to minimize flattening the edge too much) with the serger on the outside edges before attaching the binding.

Serging does add more thread to the seam allowance.

Try it on a few scraps and see if you like the result. I don't think it would be "wrong" - but I don't see any benefit to serging the borders or bindings on.

I have seen pieced quilts done on a serger. Tried a couple myself. The problem with using a serger for piecing is that it's just not very accurate. If using a serger, typically you want to do a quilt that has very large pieces and/or do as much piecing as you can in long strip sets. Also, the serger adds a lot more thread to the seams than a sewing machine does, making the seams much more bulky. Although it's possible to piece quilts on a serger, almost all quilters prefer using a sewing machine.

The same problems apply to attaching borders and binding. It is not easy to achieve accuracy, and the seams are considerably bulkier.

I don't even like to serge the edges of a quilt before binding, which is probably the most common use of a serger by quilters. I did not like the stiffness it added to the edge of the quilt.

I did a disappearing 4 patch all on a serger. Loved it. Had no problems. Plan to do another quilt with the serger some day.

I agree with Prism. I have a serger and have used it fairly extensively for clothing construction, but even then I chose not to use it sometimes because of the added bulk of 4 threads wrapping the edges of the fabric. I don't think I'd like it for quilting and I'm not sure what the advantage would be as the raw edges are always wrapped in other fabrics so raveling isn't something you'd have to worry about.

The only time I use a serger is after I have trimmed my quilt, I drop the knife to prevent the serger from trimming more fabric and use the serger to secure the edges of my quilt before I bind it. I find doing it this way helps my binding go smoother.

The only quilt I ever pieced with a serger on was a flannel quilt for my son who has two cats and a dog in his home and I knew the quilt would be washed a lot. I used a very basic wide strip pieced design with very few seams. It turned out great and is holding up well.

I watched a youtube video of Elenor Burns using a serger for a Log Cabin quilt. I remembered thinking that if she does it, it must be okay. I just got a serger for Christmas, so I've never used it for quilting, just for garments. If you are comfortable with one, it should be fine.

I'm totally going to serger the edges of my next quilt before sending it to the long armer! Love that idea!

Kaye Woods had a pattern for a baby quilt that was reversible. It was on the order of a log cabin but the center square was 4" and the strips were 4" wide. The entire quilt was made with a serger. You made a sandwich of Side A fabric, batting, and Side B fabric and you serged all of the raw edges together before adding another set of sandwiches in the same order as a log cabin block. She had a booth at an American Sewing Guild convention in Ft. Lauderdale and people were asked to sit and sew for 30 minutes. I made a complete quilt in that time because all of the pieces were already pre-cut. The quilts were all donated to charity and over 200 quilts were made that weekend. I then went home and made another quilt as a gift. I don't think I would use it on smaller pieced quilts.

No, I wouldn't do it. Besides not being an accurate seam allowance, serger thread is thin polyester and melts when you iron it. If you used cotton thread on a serger, it would be too bulky.