How useful is a serger

Exactly!!!

Well, thanks! :) I just heard so much about people having problems because their machines were sooooo fluffed up! Thing is, sergers DO make lint like nothing else, so you need to clean them every garment/few hours.

Keep you eyes peeled for good ebay bargains and pre-loved ones! I've had good luck with them.

G'day Moanna

You won't regret buying a serger, it will give a more professional finish to your sewing, this in turn will inspire you to sew more because everything looks so much nicer.

As has been said, a serger does more than finish seams but that is good for starters and you can grow into it's other features in time.

There's a great book by Singer 'Sewing with an Overlock' that gives a good explanation of all the stitches and their uses. These are sold on ebay.com quite often and mostly only cost a few dollars. You'll also find well priced sergers on ebay too, quite often they have been a gift from family etc and the owner hasn't taken the time to learn to use it, then it gets sold and the new owner is the winner.

Br> You've given me a lot of ideas. And it's like Juno was saying above,

I had my serger for about 3 years and thought that it was handy enough, I didn't regret buying it BUT, I certainly could have lived without it. Then my dealer had an all day, bring your lunch, serger class. Even after going through the book several times while teaching myself I had NO idea a serger could do the things it does. The class was one of the best investments I have made so far to improve my sewing skills of 50+ years and now can't imagine being without a serger.

Val

Kay Lancaster wrote: , preparing sleevecaps,

Kay, Would you please be kind enough to explain what it is you do on sleeve caps on a serger. Thanks, Juno

Not to mention that what some people in this thread call "the professional look", I call the "I bought this at Walmart" look.

"Finishing" seams is over-rated. Some edges need to be covered, but some edges work better when left raw.

Joy Beeson

You're right...lots of sergers on eBay. I could even get a serger AND a Bernini embrodery machine plus a cabinet for 1,400 dollars. :)

I "settled" for the book you menti> G'day Moanna

You'll also

In a previous post someone compared a serger to a microwave, which IMHO is pretty accurate. One can prepare meals without one, and while it does save time, something's are best done by traditional methods.

Yes, it is true that what customers are willing to pay for, often does not match their expectations of quality. Take darning/reweaving for instance; hand darning/reweaving produces an almost invisible result when done correctly, but not many will pay for the labour hours.

Have debated off and on about weather a serger would be an asset or just a comfort. Since I do mostly, embroidery, mending, and heirloom type sewing just do not think a serger is something I "must" have ATM. Mind you if a decent one came along at a great price,wouldn't turn it away.

Have seen garments/items made 20 to 30 years ago that have stood up quite well with just traditional methods of finishing seams. But guess if one had to roll hem several score yards of curtains per day, or finish seams on 50 or more swimsuits per hour, then nothing probably could beat a serger.

As with everything else with the craft of sewing, much depends upon individual taste,skill level and what one is comfortable with.

When I have had the opportunity to walk through stores like Sax's 5th Avenue and some other's, that charge astronomical prices for a tee shirt, I make it a point to check the workmanship. I have found that it not much better than a "WalMart finish" and sometimes worse. A lot of the clothes that are factory made are just plan shoddy workmanship no matter the cost. Juno

Just bought a serger at the beginning of summer. Love it. I can get a lot more done in the same amount of time. It sews, finishes, and trims the seam all in one operation. IMO, they can be difficult to thread, so make sure you get instruction before you take it home. Make sure you buy it from a place where you can get support. Sergers are good for basic construction. I use it for sewing the seams of the garment and the regular sewing machine for finishing and details.

Kitty

If you've got a sleevecap that needs a lot of ease and the fabric doesn't ease particularly well, you can set the serger to "full gather", serge right on the cut edge, and then steam the cap. It then sets in with very little fuss and bother. If you discover you've got too much gather when you're pinning it in, just pop the needle threads with a seam ripper in a few places and pat it out a bit.

Kay

And this often has nothing to do with whether or not it's been serged. It has a lot more to do with materials and quality of finish. Sharp blades, the right needles for the fabric, good quality thread of the right type, and care in execution, can make a serged finish a delight. And some fabrics are just soooooo much easier to handle and to get the right finish on with the serger.

There is a place for hand finishing if there is time, and the garment and fabrics lend themselves to it. And there is also the place for the serged finish. The real trick is learning which is which and applying them with skill.

I've been doing that for sleeve caps for eons, but I use the old two-lines-of-stitching-and-pull-up-the-bobbin-thread technique. I lightly steam (holding the iron above the fabric) the "gathered" seam allowance over a pressing ham, and then adjust the ease when I pin-baste the sleeve into the armseye. Now that I have a serger with differential feed, I will test Kay's method.

Beverly

Thanks, I give a try. On practice pieces of course. As I have said before. My gathering skills are not the best. On that note I went down to try out my gathering attachment this afternoon and couldn't move the set screw for attaching it to the serger. DH was not available to loosen it for me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try it out. At least I was able to clean and oil the machine while I was there so it wasn't wasted time.Juno

You need leverage. A screwdriver with a fat handle, with sticky rubber on it will do the trick. I have a pile of thin rubber ads that I save. I buy them anytime I see them in thrift stores or at garage sales. There are no commercially available equivalents - the ones in the store are too thick and too slick. The rubber is for grip, the large handle gives you the upper hand.

You also need some hand and arm strength, which I don't have much of any more. It seems that taking prednisone on and off for so many years, for my asthma, has taken a toll. That, or just getting old. LOL. Juno

Leverage compensates for a lot of strength.