ckcowl

About 20 years ago I had a friend who spent a lot of time convincing me that I needed a serger. I finally broke down and bought one for around $500. Watched the video that came with it, threaded it, used it for about 10 minutes, put it back in its case, put it under a bench and there it lived- traveled through 3 moves, finally about 10 years ago I was tired of it taking up space and I sold it- for way less than I paid for it- personally I see no reason to own one unless you do a lot of garment sewing with knits- I don’t so it was a waste for me.

Rhonda K

Here is my reply that didn't get posted earlier.

I love my serger. Our LQS had scheduled classes with projects each month. We have made tote bags, machine mats, rugs, shirts, quilts,and more. There is so much that you can make with one.

https://babylock.com/learn-and-create/projects?category[]=4&sort=seasonal:desc

cashs_mom

If you only make quilts, I see no reason to have one. I have one that I've had for years. I make garments and use it extensively for that. I also so some home dec stuff and it comes in very handy then to make sure things don't ravel, but for quilts, I don't really see much use.

IrishNY

Funny you should ask. I just got mine out after not having used it in many years. I loved using it to make flannel pajama pants for my kids when they were teens, and for lots of clothing when they were younger. We have a new granddaughter and I'm going to make her a knit romper before we visit this weekend. I can see my serger getting a lot of use in the coming years.

CanoePam

a serger sews at a much faster speed than a regular sewing machine. A domestic serger can sew pretty much as fast as an industrial straight stitch, 1000 SPM or more. For the Olson mask, you just serge the edges, no folding under and top stitching. For a pleated mask, you can serge the pleated side faster than sewing because sergers handle wider variations in fabric height than sewing machines. They don’t do casings well, and it is easier to apply a binding with a sewing machine though so not all steps can be done on a serger.

QuiltnNan

Thanks for beating me to the answer to my original post. Yes, those are the reasons.

luvstoquilt

I agree with SusieQOH. I have never had one and I have never wanted one....way to many toys already and all I sew anymore are quilts.

Peckish

Thanks for the answer. I was wondering if I'd missed the boat, making masks with my DSM instead of my serger, but since my DSM can do all those things (1500 spm, 5 layers of denim, etc), I'm good with it.

rupe

when you make your receiving blankets what type if material do you use? And do you double the fabric?
Do you use a regular cotton thread for the stitching?

toogie

I would not do without a serger, but then I sew anything and everything, not just quilts. I use mine on fleece and knits. You don't need it to keep these fabrics from raveling or fraying, but to help feed the fabrics evenly and help flatten all the buck in the seam allowance. I also use on cottons and blends when garment making or crafts. This does keep the seam allowance from raveling and also make a nice finish. I have also serged the outer edge of my quilt after quilting to sew binding on better. It helps flatten the edge and hold all the 3 outer edge layers together. However, if quilting is all you do maybe you could do without a serger. Once I've had one, I cannot.