choosing a new serger

I've been warned that my favorite serger isn't going to last much longer. Right now, it only goes if I have the wire to the foot control weighted down with my 4 D battery flashlight. Anyone have a new serger that does a beautiful tiny fine rolled edge? I'm not going to finish seams on canvas tent stakes. The display items I've examined at shows and dealers (none local) are never as pretty as what my old Bernette 334DS can do. ( Only saying because I don't think it's my superior skill level, just think most of them can't do what I want to.) Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther
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I like my Babylock Eclipse. It makes a nice rolled hem, though I don't know if it's as tiny and fine as you want. I don't do a lot of fine fabric sewing (mostly just pajamas), so I haven't done a lot of rolled hems; the last ones were with regular cotton sewing thread in the loopers (because I didn't have the right color serger thread) so they weren't as fine as they would have been with finer thread. It is really easy to set up for a rolled hem and it is super easy to thread.

Julia > I've been warned that my favorite serger isn't going to last much

Reply to
Julia in MN

Just a thought- a lot of folks seem to buy sergers and seldom use them. Maybe you could find a very gently used machine the same as the one you have and love? I don't have a serger, never have and know nothing about them other than they frighten me with too many threads and a fabric cutter! VBG

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Yes - it was the fabric cutter that got to me in the end. I sold mine pretty quickly! . In message , Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

Reply to
Pat S

I have a 334ds here. I replaced it with the Janome mylock 644d a few years ago but keep it as a back up. I don't do the fussy stuff you do but golly that Janome is a real dream to use. It does most everything I ask of it. That isn't so much these days but I really enjoy sewing with it. That Bernette broke (or should I say "went bad") maybe 5 years ago. I bought the Janome then decided I should have the Bernette repaired while parts might still be available. I bailed it out of the shop for $150 and put it in the closet as a back up. I didn?t even check it out for a couple of years. I finally tested it and it sewed like new. I still prefer that little Janome though. You could come and do a serger raid if you want. : ) Taria

I've been warned that my favorite serger isn't going to last much longer. Right now, it only goes if I have the wire to the foot control weighted down with my 4 D battery flashlight. Anyone have a new serger that does a beautiful tiny fine rolled edge? I'm not going to finish seams on canvas tent stakes. The display items I've examined at shows and dealers (none local) are never as pretty as what my old Bernette 334DS can do. ( Only saying because I don't think it's my superior skill level, just think most of them can't do what I want to.) Polly

Reply to
Taria

Oh bless your heart, Taria. I wouldn't raid a friend. Maybe an enemy. I let my 334DS stay in a closet for years too. I thought if I never gave up that I could make the next serger sing. Five years is long enough; the new(er) serger is tone-deaf. Looking at the descriptions and abilities of the latest sergers, some of them really call to me. I need to see what the BabyLock can do. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I think they can do a lot! I went with a friend a few months ago to look for one for her. Some of them are huge! Some of them have 6 or 8 spools of thread! She eventually bought a used one....but has only used it once. I had to help her set it up and get it running! I still use my Baby Lock serger from at least 17 or 18 years ago. It doesn't have any features, no self threading, not even dual feed! But, I'm comfortable with it, and it does a great rolled hem. I've only had it serviced once in all those years; when I ran over a pin (or tried to) that was buried in a fake fur Halloween costume! Sometimes I think I'd like a new one, but then I don't know what more I'd use it for than the one I have.

Reply to
Alice in PA

Good Golly, Alice! I can't imagine serging fake fur. Mostly because I figure it would dull the serger's blades and getting them replaced would amount to a 100 mile trip and probably weeks without the serger. Other than that . . . I serge a lot of receiving blankets. The new mamas say that the serged edge holds up just as well as a twice-folded straight stitch via sewing machine. Then there's preemie shirts and gowns. They really do need a soft, fine rolled edge. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

Polly, I'm a Juki partisan, and they made either many or all of the Bernette sergers. My main serger is a Juki MO655, a 5 thread true safety stitch serger, which is the Bernette 008D, but a pile less money.

The Juki MO644 is probably the equivalent of your serger now.

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here's the manual:
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If you'll tell me what fabrics you typically use for rolled edges, I'll run some off on my serger and you can see what a 5 year old, never professionally serviced serger will do. Most of my serging is pretty heavy duty, and I never seem to do rolled hems, so what you'll see from my samples is pretty amateur hour in the rolled hem department. I know I've got some lightweight muslin, probably some batiste, some decent cotton flannel around-- what else do you roll hem?

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Well, Kay. Wow. I don't think I ever had anyone solve a problem for me so perfectly. My little face is smiling all the way around my head. Hot dog. I was looking at the latest and greatest. The truth is, I really don't want them. All I wanted was a perfect copy of what I'm comfortable with that's not just about to fall to pieces. Your offer to do amateur hour rolled edges made me LOL. Not going to be necessary but the thought is just a hoot. Thank you for finding the serger for me. I owe you big time. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I don't think it's a perfect copy -- the threading has greatly improved since most ca. 1980 sergers, and you only have to flip a lever to roll hem instead of change the plate -- but it's a very sturdy manual serger that its big brotherthe 5 thread takes me about 90 seconds to thread. The other thing I really like about Juki is that these machines love Organ 15x1 needles, which are dirt cheap in comparison with, say, Schmetz -- about $25-30/100, sometimes less if you find a deal.

I've certainly enjoyed my Jukis.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Pat, I really don't think it is possible to cut yourself with a serger. Never heard of anyone who did. I'm not so smug that I think I know 'everything' and reckon there's just heaps I've never heard of but that would be quite an event. Unless, of course, you became brave enough to change the blades yourself. (Not going to happen around here.) To get hurt from the cutting blades, I'm thinking first you would have to saw the backside of the serger off and reach in from behind. You wouldn't do that, would you? Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

Well. What a buy I found. The economy is certainly unusual/interesting but this must be a Very good time to replace my beloved serger. The deal I found was about 1/3 the list price and included: a carrying case (not that I've ever been tempted to carry one), 100 needles, special feet I'll never use, a dozen cones of thread, a video, a samples book and, and, and. They gave me everything but the store's front door. I could ask. Anyone need a new front door? NOW. Let me threaten you. If you have a serger who is your good friend and you depend on her, hie thee to a fine, reliable service techy person and get her a cleaning/tune-up. Shame upon you if you expect her to survive with neglect. Shame. Polly

"Kay Lancaster"

Reply to
Polly Esther

Polly, My serger/overlocker has a slideback door and I did cut my finger (not badly) because I hadn't shut the door properly. It dropped open when I first started to sew and stupidly tried to shut it before I took my foot of the pedal. I got a bigger fright than cut but I am oh sooo careful now. I was fortunate to have long finger nails and it took the nail and a tiny tiny bit of finger. I now make sure I turn it off at the on/off button before opening the door for any cleaning.

Di

Reply to
Di Maloney

Me again. You have shamed me Polly. I must admit I have never had it serviced in the

19 years I have had it. My wish for the New Year is to get all my machines serviced by a professional.

My NY 'TO DO' list growing longer every hour.

Reply to
Di Maloney

Reply to
Roberta

OK I must have missed reading something, but what serger did you end up getting?? Barbara in FL who sometimes thinks of replacing my 26 yo Singer serger

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Reply to
Bobbie Sews More

No thanks, but I'm thinking of replacing the door knob on ours.

techy person and

to survive

Actually, I've had a fair amount of training on cleaning and fixing sergers. I'm not a pro, but unless I've done something really heinous, "my" pro tech tells me to get out of there and quit wasting his time on a machine that's already clean and in time.

BTW, you said something earlier about having to take a serger 100 miles and do without for several weeks to get the blades changed. May I make a couple of suggestions?

1) If you've got a camera capable of taking closeups, take LOTS of closeup photos of all parts of the machine you can reach. It's handy to do that now, when all the parts are exactly where they are supposed to be. Also take photos of the complete stitch cycle with the front of the machine open so you can get clear shots of the loopers while you hand crank the machine through the cycle. Those are really nice to have later when you're not sure if you accidentally knocked a looper, or if the machine is truly in time, or if the knife is sitting in the holder properly or... 2) If you bought a Juki, then it probably came with extra top and bottom knives, and if they're like the ones in my machine, they will last a very long time. But it truly is no chore at all to change the knives, especially since you're got your initial photos from when the machine was shiny and new. Takes almost as much skill as getting the cap back on the toothpaste tube. 3) If they haven't changed things since my machine, you also got a heavy paper copy of the threading instructions that folds out flat. I made scan of mine just in case, and then laminated the big chart, punched a hole in it, and tied a string through it so I could hang it on a cuphook. The only time I have ever had trouble threading a machine, it was o dark thirty and I was also too brain dead to remember where I'd filed the manual. Now I've got the diagrams where they can't escape. 4) The Perfect Sew needle threader is really handy to have when threading serger needles. If you haven't tried one, see if one hops into your cart next time you spot them. One end has a hole so it can act as a needle inserter,and the other end has a tiny wire hook to put through the needle eye and catch the thread by laying it over the hook.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

I'll confess.

While I have never cut myself with a rotary cutter, I have cut myself with a serger.

My serger allows the sewist to lift the blade up and out of the way if a seam without trimming is desired. Such a seam was wanted, however with the blade up and out of the way the protective cover has to also be up and out of the way.

You can see where this is going, right?

I am a girl who needs protective covers :-) I don't remember that it was a dramatic injury or anything but I did nick myself.

marcella

Reply to
Marcella Peek

I'm thinking this is a language-thing, Roberta. I believe what Pat is talking about is knit pants/top for ladies like what we call a 'warm-up' suit . . . not the lovely double-knit suits men wore in the 60's (?) with bolo ties and long sideburns. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

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