chad.rosco
Hiya~
I sew, and I want to sew quicker, and I think a serger is just what I need, so I'm going to invest in one. I want one that an idiot could operate, but that will also offer me good sewing options. I want to sew clothes, and I want to be able to sew knits, and have those fun hems, like rolled, lettuce, etc., in addition to having it cut and sew seams. I don't want a singer, because I had a singer sewing machine that lasted only a year, and then broke, irreparably. So, like a white, or Janome, etc. Price is also a concern.
So, looking for a good sewer, who knows her (his?) stuff.
Ease of use
Options
Brand
Price
Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate it.
chaddie
Answer
I recommend most people get their first serger locally from someone who will support your learning. There's a steep enough learning curve at first that having someone to bail you out when you're stuck can really help.
One thing you'll notice when you go serger shopping is that there are a bunch of sergers under different names that all look a whole lot alike. For instance, my first serger was a Pfaff that was an almost-twin of a Singer serger -- the Pfaff just had a better motor. There are only about 3 manufacturing companies for home sergers. Juki makes for Bernina, for instance.
The cheapest serger that I know of that gets good reviews from the owners is the Brother 1034D/3034D. The Walmart version is the 1034D, while the one sold in dealers is the 3034D. Walmart won't help you learn to use your machine or care for it; a dealer should. Something to think about as you're trying out sergers.
On the upper ends of the serging world, there seems to be a dichotomy into two camps. There are those who love the easy air-jet threading of the and autotensioning of the higher end Babylocks, and those of us who want to be able to control every aspect of the machine threading and tensioning and want more power, and we're usually in the Juki camp. Juki is a well respected manufacturer, though you've probably never heard of them -- they're just not into advertising much, but the US website does have downloadable manuals for each of their machines. (So does Brother, btw.) Jukis are also a lot more affordable than Babylocks, and yes, I now have two Jukis, one a 5 thread safety stitch machine that I do most construction sewing on, and a separate coverstitch machine made by Juki for Bernina, that I hem knits with.
I'd like to first send you to the library for about 5 books:
Singer's Sewing with An Overlock
ABCs of Serging (which is on sale at a good price right now at ER Hamilton)
Serge Something Super for your Kids (which is an excellent book on learning to change a sewing project into a serger project)
Ultimate Serger Answer Book, the book that never left my table for the first year I owned a serger
and Chris James' Complete Serger Handbook, which is the only basic book I know of that covers coverstitch functions.
Read through those as if they were novels, and then gather up some heavy fabrics, light fabrics, sheers, stretchy fabrics, knits, stable stuff, and go try out some sergers. You'll learn a lot in the process.
When I bought my first serger, I was living about 50 miles from the dealer, so couldn't just rush over if I was stuck. The one thing I'm very glad I did was to take the demo serger apart and clean it and replace the needle and blades using only the manual before I decided to buy it. The salesman looked a bit startled, but, as he said, if I can screw up the machine on the floor, it's 1) not the right machine for me and 2) they can put it back together right. I managed just fine with my test, and went home with a serger than I used for the next 10 years. Good little machine that would still sew if I got around to replacing a broken spring in it. Just not as fast or as capable of handling heavy things as my Juki.
Good luck, have fun, and learn a lot while you're shopping.
http://www.brother-usa.com/homesewing/ProductList.aspx?cat=sergers#.TpevEBeVAu4
http://www.brother-usa.com/support/default.aspx?PGID=3&R3ModelID=1034D#.TpevQheVAu4
http://www.babylock.com/sergers/
http://www.jukihome.com/products/sergingmain.html
I recommend most people get their first serger locally from someone who will support your learning. There's a steep enough learning curve at first that having someone to bail you out when you're stuck can really help.
One thing you'll notice when you go serger shopping is that there are a bunch of sergers under different names that all look a whole lot alike. For instance, my first serger was a Pfaff that was an almost-twin of a Singer serger -- the Pfaff just had a better motor. There are only about 3 manufacturing companies for home sergers. Juki makes for Bernina, for instance.
The cheapest serger that I know of that gets good reviews from the owners is the Brother 1034D/3034D. The Walmart version is the 1034D, while the one sold in dealers is the 3034D. Walmart won't help you learn to use your machine or care for it; a dealer should. Something to think about as you're trying out sergers.
On the upper ends of the serging world, there seems to be a dichotomy into two camps. There are those who love the easy air-jet threading of the and autotensioning of the higher end Babylocks, and those of us who want to be able to control every aspect of the machine threading and tensioning and want more power, and we're usually in the Juki camp. Juki is a well respected manufacturer, though you've probably never heard of them -- they're just not into advertising much, but the US website does have downloadable manuals for each of their machines. (So does Brother, btw.) Jukis are also a lot more affordable than Babylocks, and yes, I now have two Jukis, one a 5 thread safety stitch machine that I do most construction sewing on, and a separate coverstitch machine made by Juki for Bernina, that I hem knits with.
I'd like to first send you to the library for about 5 books:
Singer's Sewing with An Overlock
ABCs of Serging (which is on sale at a good price right now at ER Hamilton)
Serge Something Super for your Kids (which is an excellent book on learning to change a sewing project into a serger project)
Ultimate Serger Answer Book, the book that never left my table for the first year I owned a serger
and Chris James' Complete Serger Handbook, which is the only basic book I know of that covers coverstitch functions.
Read through those as if they were novels, and then gather up some heavy fabrics, light fabrics, sheers, stretchy fabrics, knits, stable stuff, and go try out some sergers. You'll learn a lot in the process.
When I bought my first serger, I was living about 50 miles from the dealer, so couldn't just rush over if I was stuck. The one thing I'm very glad I did was to take the demo serger apart and clean it and replace the needle and blades using only the manual before I decided to buy it. The salesman looked a bit startled, but, as he said, if I can screw up the machine on the floor, it's 1) not the right machine for me and 2) they can put it back together right. I managed just fine with my test, and went home with a serger than I used for the next 10 years. Good little machine that would still sew if I got around to replacing a broken spring in it. Just not as fast or as capable of handling heavy things as my Juki.
Good luck, have fun, and learn a lot while you're shopping.
http://www.brother-usa.com/homesewing/ProductList.aspx?cat=sergers#.TpevEBeVAu4
http://www.brother-usa.com/support/default.aspx?PGID=3&R3ModelID=1034D#.TpevQheVAu4
http://www.babylock.com/sergers/
http://www.jukihome.com/products/sergingmain.html
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Title Post: What serger should I buy?
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Rating: 96% based on 9658 ratings. 4,4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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