Serger - Janome, Berninia or Viking

BabyLock, the Evolve or Imagine. Do not waste money on any other brand. Nothing compares. NOTHING.

But if you really want to torture yourself with trying to thread junk or trying to figure out a proper tension on junk, buy another brand.

JMHO

Now, now, now. That's your opinion, and you're entitled to it, but to imply that everything else is junk is a bit of an overstatement.

BabyLocks are not the only good sergers out there. I used a BabyLock that was a royal pain in the kiester. I will tell you that if that had been *my* first serger, it would have sat in the sewing room for a couple of years before I put it in a rummage sale, and I wouldn't have replaced it.

As usual, all brands will have their less than stellar models. Brands that are usually junk will occasionally have decent models.

I've had a Husqvarna/Viking 340 for 15 years now. I've never had a problem adjusting the tension, and I switch between 1 and 2 needles frequently, change threads (wooly nylon and standard serger thread) often, and I've sewn everything from nylon/lycra gymskins to silk to polarfleece jackets on it.

It's been in the shop three times, for general tune-ups (and it needed a new foot pedal, but that was not an in-use "injury" (the cord got snapped off in a car door)). It's not needed anything else. I probably will replace it this year sometime, just because I would like to have 5-thread capability and an easier to use rolled hem. I'm going to get another Husqvarna.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

Hey Jenn,

You have obviously never tried an Imagine or an Evolve. I can guarantee you would not buy another Husky if you did. Seriously, do try one out. I bet you'll fall in love. :)

Compared to the Imagine and Evolve, everything else IS junk. Try one and you will agree.

Love my Huskylock 910 - you could sew plate armour with it, then roll the edge of fine chiffon! Pop over to my web site (URL below) to see some of the mad things it has coped with! No sell, just info...

I have - I prefer the Huskylock. MUCH easier to thread! The Evolve is nice, but not built for the amount of work I put through mine, and not worth the extra for all the fancy stuff that doesn't get used enough to pay it's way. For volume of work to breakdown ratio, it's got to be Bernina or Huskylock for me - or the next time I upgrade, I'll have to spring for an industrial!

The capability of the Wave to do the 'embroidery' stuff would be fun for some wedding things I do, but again, as an extra, not as a main machine, and not wanted enough to pay for itself within a reasonable time.

The Babylock machines are OK for home sewers who do up to 2 or 3 things a month, but are too light weight for serious volume sewing.

See, that's the thing about ALL machines - different people need different capabilities and want different things from their machines. I need a machine that will cope with high volumes on occasion, is quick and easy to thread and change stitches, will cope with many different types of fabric (from Windblock fleece to silk chiffon), and doesn't take up as much room as an industrial machine. I make lots of clothing, and occasionally costumes and reproduction historical stuff, and have a few mad forays into curtain and other furnishings. Sometimes I do as many as 6 garments in a week (and occasionally 3 in one day, when costuming!). Reliability is waaaaay more important than fancy stitching and 'air jet threading' that can be a total pain in the bum and is the least reliable thing about the machines - according to several repair engineers I've spoken to. I hated trying to thread using it, and was much quicker threading up machines that didn't have it.

So, when you DO go to buy your machine, take into account:

The type of fabrics you will be sewing: knits, wovens, light weight and heavy, stretch and fixed... Garment cut: on grain or bias - some machines make a pig's ear out of bias cuts! Ease of threading FOR YOU - what *I* may find a doddle may turn out to be a right skiddle for you (I thread left handed - MUCH easier, for me!) Finish required: how MUCH fancy edge stuff do you need? How often will you NEED 8 threads? Is a good 2 thread rolled hem important to you? (For me, yes - for others, Wot's that for?) Volume of work: Are you an occasional sewer - say one or two items a year? Do you sew quite a lot - 2 or 3 times a month? Are you sewing all the time - HOURS every day (that's me!)? Space: Can you leave the machine up all the time (yes, for me), or do you have to clear the table to eat? And how much space do you have for the garment/whatever round the machine? (For BIG things like long curtains or a bed sized quilt, I might have to move it!) Classes: Will the beast stand up to being packed and dragged to class and back every week for however long? Mine did - it even had a child try to STAND on it once, and came to no harm! Ease of use - for YOU. Are the controls where you want them? Don't buy a machine that doesn't fit your hands!

Think carefully about ALL the aspects of owning and USING the machine before buying one - and buy what suits YOU. We will give you the voice of our collective experiences, but as with everything like this, one woman's meat is another's poison! For me it will always be Huskylock/Bernina for the volume work, possibly a Wave for the fun stuff, as an extra toy, and if you give me a Janome, I'll be selling it on before it reaches my house! Others LOVE their Janomes, and that's just fine.

What you want to end up with is a machine that fits you like silk undies, not a hair shirt! Only you can know which is which for you.

I love my Janome. I have a sewing machine and an overlocker and find that they are both totally reliable. I have a costume hire business and make most of the costumes. I also sew hundreds of dance costumes a year for different dance studios. I have found the Janome to be basically unbreakable (both machines!) and use the overlocker to sew all sorts of things that I shouldn't! When it has been serviced it has been cheap, The repair bloke has told me that parts are also cheap. I have had my machines for 5 years and would be lost without them. I won a husky/ Viking overlocker. I loath it. Although it is quick (flick of a switch) to convert to a rolled hem I don't find it does it as tight as the Janome and leaves little threads sticking out. I constantly break needles going over thick fabric, especially when going over seams, with the Janome overlocker I can sew anything and believe me making costumes, I have!! .........Amelia

Nope, sorry. I don't want a machine that thinks it knows more than I do. I also detest air jet threading.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

There ya go, see! I NEVER have these problems with my Huskylock, and a Janome tried to dance off the table into my lap once!

I have a Viking 910 and am very happy with it.

Maureen

Ehdem>What brands and models do you experienced sergers prefer? In particular, I was

I recently upgraded from a second-hand Bernina that I used constantly for 5 years and had no trouble with at all, but I wanted a 5 thread. I went to the "Stitches and Craft Show" and looked and talked to all the dealers, asked them to let me thread the machines and have a sew on them, I found this to be a good way to see all the machines without having to drive from shop to shop, also if you have some idea of what you want before you go, I read about them all on the internet and printed out the specifications and features so I knew what I was looking at after trying them all I picked the one I wanted then talked about a deal, you can get really good deals at these trade shows. I came home with an Elna 945 fully electronic 5 thread overlocker and I love it. I also have an Elna 7000 machine that I have had for 15 year that gets used almost every day and not a moments trouble. I agree with Kate its a very personal thing otherwise there wouldn't be so many different makes and models !!! Jane

Re: Serger - Janome, Berninia or Viking

Glad to see I am not the only one who likes the sound of the BabyLock.........I will definitely compare all when my cheap little Singer serger dies--------LOLOLOL. Still runs like a top though!!!!!! At this rate it may outlive me!!

The ones I've seen and used here were like that: half the size of my beast, less than half the weight, looked like Janome or Bernette clones, and I could have knocked them off the table with an elbow! If I hit mine hard enough to knock it, I'd break the elbow! They were horrid plasticky little things in Barbie colours! :(

It's nice to know they still do decent ones then. They were the first folk to bring the industrial stitch to the domestic market, weren't they?

Me too! I get the impression that the air jet threading was invented for those who never bother to learn how to do this properly! ;)

I never did get the nasty thing threaded! It took the teacher 20 minutes, and she was a multiple serger owner at home! I liked my little all metal 3 thread Toyota much better! I can certainly recommend Toyota to those who want a nice little domestic use serger. Mine is still going strong, over at Big Sis's place.

I'm glad you've had good luck with yours, but from what I saw, and have seen of the Evolve and the Wave, and heard from those who use and sell them all the time, those two at least are not built for this kind of hammering, and they get air jet threading problems fairly frequently - too frequently for me!

My Huskylock had a small fault when I first got it, which was fixed under guarantee very quickly, and last year had a spring go on the threading helper: I needed a new stitch plate first time round, and I changed it myself, and the second didn't affect stitch quality, just made it take half a second longer to thread!

my babylock is 17 years old, the first generation, and yes, it's a real work house. You can be sure that I use mine a lot!!

amazing what replacing a blade will accomplish.

Penny S

And setting it in the right place... Had to do that with the Toyota. Wasn't hard, and boy did it improve thing a huge amount!

Re: Serger - Janome, Berninia or Viking

Try sequinned fabric - the sort with the sequins glued on... ;\

Yikes! Even the sequins didn't wear the blade on mine... Nor has snipping pins off nicked them! Mind you, after 5 year's fairly tough use, I think I'd better get one in for the day it does need changing!

Well, that's what I remember, but I don't remember where I saw it. Somewhere on the internet, when I was looking at the history of these things. I must as Treadle On if anyone has seen a treadle version... Now that WOULD be fun!

Some further notes of interest:

Babylock history:

Re: Serger - Janome, Berninia or Viking