what do you use your serger for?

[Lilike]

i've been sewing occasionally for years but i only used a serger once in a high school home ec class. i'm getting more and more into sewing and was just wondering if a serger would be a good thing to buy. what all do you do with them? what can you do if you have a serger that you just can't do without?

[smudge]

-I love the serger for finishing all my seams.
-The serger can actually be used in place of regular sewing machine for making some things.
-The serger does a fabulous job when I need to put in an elastic waist- totally easy and no more threading elastic through casings!
-I like to make baby quilts as gifts and the serger has cut my expenses. I used to buy gathered/bound eyelet for $2-3/yd. Now I buy the flat eyelet for $.20-30/yd, and gather it myself on the serger. Comes out perfect every time!

Those are just a few ideas. I just LOVE my Babylock! If you do decide to buy a serger, check with your local serger stores for classes. I got my serger as a Christmas gift from DH in 2004 and the purchase came with a free Serger 101 class. I learned a ton!

[medaroge]

Yeah, I agree with the pp. I dont own a serger, but use my MIL's all the time. I use it when finnishing seams on clothing, I also use it for making mama pads, baby wipes, to go up the edges of a bath towel that is starting to fray. I make baby wash cloths to use for baby bathtime and as clean up for thier hands and face after meals, just buy some terry, cut in squres, serge and you ar done. Oh, also, I make cloth napkins for everyday use with it. I love to make tote bags and it is so much easier and looks nicer to just serge the edges, rather than just leaving them, turning them under, or zig-zaging them.

It just gives a professional look to anything you use it for. My sewing machine has an overlock function, but it nowhere is anything close to what the serger can do.

I think if you can afford it, get one. It saves so much time and allows me to make things that I could do, but wouldnt without it. Like the baby washcloths, mama pads, cloth napkins, are easy and fairly cheap to buy, but super easy and super cheap to make with a serger.

If you are new to serging, I would for sure get it from a shop where you can go to classes. I always have MIL there for my "help!" moments, I wouldnt be able to fix all the finikey things that go wrong without her knowledge.

[jessielove]

What don't I use the serger for? I use it for everything! It makes such clean, smooth, professional looking seams. I made each of my children a play cape and used only the serger for all of them. The serger hasn't completely replaced my sewing machine ~ I still use the sewing machine to sew in things like labels and elastic on diapers ~ but it has cut sewing time down to a fraction.

[KariM]

I use it for constructing garments (whenever a seam can be serged, I serge it), sewing cloth menstrual pads, and finishing cloth wipes. There is an additional attachment I want to get for my serger that will allow me to do rolled hems. With that I plan to sew up cloth napkins, tablecloths, and handkerchiefs!

[boingo82]

I use it for everything I possibly can!
Today I made a shirt with it, using the serger exclusively except in 2 spots where I had to gather.

[passionfaerie]

So for the ladies that use sergers ... what kind would you recommend? Especially for someone who has never used one before?

[boingo82]

I have had an older (early 1980s) Juki and a new Juki. Both have been great. I only got the new one because it had a few new features, like differential feed and easier threading.
When you are shopping you want 4 threads or more, and differential feed.

[jessielove]

Originally Posted by passionfaerie

So for the ladies that use sergers ... what kind would you recommend? Especially for someone who has never used one before?

I have a Brother 1034D and it's very user friendly. I had never used a serger before and was able to figure it out quickly and easily. It comes with instructional cd-roms which are a lot of help, too.

[Lilike]

do sergers also make it easier/possible to use very stretchy or un-ironable fabrics? i've wanted to make things before with with sheer tulles and stretchy fabrics but gave up in frustration because you just can't hem them.

[jessielove]

I think it makes sewing with stretchy fabrics much easier. The differential feed on my serger helps to run two stretchy knits together at the same rate, completely cutting out the wavy look and preventing the fabrics from stretching weird while sewing. I can use the serger to make fancy looking lettuce edging with knits, too, by purposely stretching the fabric as it serges.

If you'll use the serger it's totally worth every penny to buy one. I use mine for so many different things and it really makes sewing SO much faster.

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by Lilike

do sergers also make it easier/possible to use very stretchy or un-ironable fabrics? i've wanted to make things before with with sheer tulles and stretchy fabrics but gave up in frustration because you just can't hem them.

Yes yes yes!
I wouldn't even *try* sewing stretch fabrics with the regular machine if I could help it.
The serger makes them a breeze. Today I sewed 2 knit shirts from scratch, and didn't need the regular machine or a needle/thread once. They were start-to-finish serged. And only took about an hour each to do.

[passionfaerie]

Cool... I'm going to start shopping around for one. I have all this great stretchy/sheer fabric stockpiled but its such a pita on my machine that i never use it!