Baby Lock & The Beatles
Baby Lock & The Beatles
Examining the best sergers in the world, plus a fascinating commonality between the Japanese serger company and The Beatles
Greetings everybody,
This edition of The Sewing Machine Newsletter is going to cover the subject of sergers. However, the format of the article is going to be a little bit different than usual. I majored in philosophy when I was in college and one of my favorite classes was Ancient Greek Philosophy. In this class I read a handful of Plato’s Dialogues, which I enjoyed a lot. For those unfamiliar, Plato was a great thinker and teacher of Ancient Greece who espoused his philosophical ideas in the form of written dialogue, rather than a traditional philosophy book. In his written works, Plato sets the scene with a couple of different characters, and these characters have a back-and-forth conversation about a particular subject matter. Socrates, who was Plato’s teacher, is the protagonist of many of these dialogues. The way these dialogues are structured, Socrates has a conversation with the other characters, and within the confines of that conversation he imparts his wisdom through a deep examination of the meaning of life.
Anyway, I am going to challenge myself and examine sergers in the form of a dialogue. It’s not quite a Socratic Dialogue. It’s a SewingMachineMan Dialogue.
I hope you enjoy.
The other day I was in the shop, working at my desk, when a woman walked through the front door with her husband, who was carrying an old dusty serger made by the now-extinct sewing machine company called WHITE.
“It needs to be repaired,” she said. “It won’t sew!”
”It’s old,” says her husband. “Like me.”
The man was close to 80 years old. I took the serger from him and put it down on the table next to my desk. They were right. It was old and needed repair. The handwheel was completely frozen— I could not turn the machine over at all.
“Okay, so we can fix this machine for you if you’d like,” I said. “Estimate for repair on this guy is $150-200.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“The thing is, with these old sergers— to be perfectly honest, we aren’t doing you a favor by fixing them,” I said. “Even if this machine was functioning at 100%, you would still have some basic problems.”
“Like what?”
“Well, when was the last time you used this serger?”
“Gosh, I don’t know… it has been at least 5 years.”
“And why is that?”
“I am afraid of threading it,” she said, embarrassed.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “These old sergers are notoriously difficult to thread. See, threading a sewing machine is relatively simple. You have two sources of thread— the upper thread that goes through your needle, and your bobbin thread that sits in your bobbin case. However, sergers use 3 or 4 thread sources, and they don’t have a bobbin. Instead of the bobbin, there is something we call the loopers, and there are two of them, the upper looper and the lower looper. Each looper needs to be threaded and, in order to do so, the thread has to pass through 5 or 6 rickety thread guides. You have to thread the loopers in a specific order and it requires significant hand-eye coordination— a lot of holding the thread with tweezers and lacing it through tiny little areas.”
“Exactly!” the woman said. “You just described threading my machine to a tee. It’s like a nightmare where I get lost in a maze and can’t find my way out.”
“And that’s not even the worst part,” I told her.
Now the husband spoke up: “What could be worse than not being able to thread your machine?”
“Balancing tension,” I explained. “Serger tension is susceptible to going out of whack, and balancing it can be one of the most frustrating things in the world.”
“It’s different than sewing machine tension?”
“Yes, balancing serger tension is quite different. A sewing machine uses two thread sources to make a lockstitch, which presents as a knot that sits in between the multiple layers of fabric that we are sewing together. If the tension is off on our sewing machine, that knot will either be showing on the top side of the fabric or the underside of the fabric. If it is poking up on the top side, we simply lower our upper tension dial so that the knot will go back down to the middle of the fabric. And vice-versa if the knot is poking out on the underside— in that case, we would increase the upper tension dial, which pulls the knot up into the middle. It’s essentially a tug-of-war between two threads. Say our upper tension dial is set at 4 and the knot is poking out the top. Lower that dial to 3-3.5 and the knot should sit down a little bit. If the knot is poking out the underside, then raise the upper tension dial to 5, which should bring the knot up a little bit.”
“That makes sense… but you are saying sergers are different?”
“Yes. A serger makes an overlock stitch using 3-4 thread sources, which is quite different than a sewing machine’s lockstitch. Whereas the lockstitch is strong and forms a defined knot that sits in the middle of the fabric, an overlock stitch isn’t as strong. An overlock stitch offers some give and some stretch, which is why sergers are great for sewing knits and other stretchy fabric. There is no strong knot sitting between the fabric— instead, the stitch lays over the edge of the fabric. If the tension is off, it’s not a tug of war between two threads like a sewing machine. It’s a more complex stitch that uses 3-4 threads, and there is a tension dial for each thread.”
“So which tension dial do you turn on a serger if there are 3 or 4 different ones?”
“That’s really the crux of the problem. I work with sewing machines and sergers for a living, and I have difficulty remembering how to balance whacky serger tension. Think about it: if my serger stitch looks bad, which thread source needs adjustment? The needles or the loopers? The upper looper or lower looper? Often, it is more than one. And does it need to be tightened or loosened? That overlock stitch lays over the edge of the fabric— it’s not as simple as a tug-of-war like a sewing machine. There is a lot of trial and error involved. Adjust one tension knob and sew a seam— not quite right. Adjust the other tension knob and sew a seam— still not right. Maybe I should have been increasing tension instead of decreasing tension, so I reversed my course. You see what I mean?”
“I do,” she said. “I know from experience.”
“I am having nightmares already,” said her husband. “Why would we pay money to even fix this thing? Why would anyone even want to use a serger in the first place?”
“Well, when they do work, they are great for sewing and knits and garment construction,” his wife explained.
“They are very useful tools,” I agreed. “Especially for sewing knits. And to answer your first question, sir, I honestly don’t think you folks should spend money to fix this older serger. Save that money to invest in a new serger instead. Modern sergers have made massive leaps in technology in order to solve the two problems we’ve been talking about. Nowadays you can get a serger that threads the loopers with a gust of air, rather than hitting all those different thread guides.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“I am not. And, you can also get a serger with a feature called Automatic Thread Delivery, which replaces the traditional tension system. In essence, it is effectively automatic tension. No tension dials to adjust and a perfect stitch every time.”
“No way!”
“Yes way.”
“I’ve got to see this with my own eyes. Can you show me?”
“I can. Follow me.”
I showed this couple upstairs to where I have all the sergers and coverstitch floor model machines set up. I sat them in front of the Baby Lock Victory and Baby Lock Acclaim, two sergers designed with both air-threading for the loopers and Automatic Thread Delivery instead of the traditional tension system that uses tension discs and an adjustment dial.
First, I pointed out how neither of these machines are designed with traditional tension discs:
“Instead of a traditional tensions discs that have a tension adjustment knobs, these sergers are designed with a feature called Automatic Thread Delivery (ATD), arguably the most underrated feature in the sewing world. Rather than putting constant tension on the thread, ATD delivers the required length of thread to form a balanced stitch. This is achieved by an internal mechanism inside the machine-- sliding metal plates that determine the length of the thread delivered into the stitch. Machines with ATD work in a manner that is binary-- thread is either being delivered, or it is not being delivered. The thread is not under constant tension like a sewing machine or the old-school sergers. In fact, there is no tension and therefore there is no tension adjustment that is even possible-- no tinkering, no repeated trial and error. And, on top of all that, ADT is a purely mechanical feature. No computers are involved whatsoever.”
“Can I see these sliding metal blocks you’re talking about?”
“Sure.”
I grabbed a screwdriver and took off the top cover of one of our floor models to expose the ATD mechanism inside the machine:
The couple was very impressed by Automatic Thread Delivery and the consistently perfect stitch these machines produced. Now it was time to dazzle them with the exciting air threading feature.
The Baby Lock Acclaim was threaded up and ready to sew, but I cut the threads and pulled them out. The woman yelped. Her husband laughed. Then I showed her how simple and easy it is to thread the loopers with a gust of air:
“I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY THEY PUT INTO THESE MACHINES,” her husband exclaimed.
“Should I go get you one?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said quickly.
“Not so fast,” she said. “I noticed you have a couple of Juki sergers, but you only showed me Baby Lock and you mostly carry Baby Lock. I have heard of Juki before, but I’ve never heard of Baby Lock. What is Baby Lock?”
“It’s actually a funny story,” I said. “Because the origin of how Baby Lock came to be is inextricably tied to Juki. Juki is primarily a manufacturer of industrial sewing machines. They are a leading manufacturer of industrial in the modern day, and they were huge in industrials back in the 50’s and 60’s. A common industrial machine is the industrial overlock machine, which is commonplace in factories for finishing edges in garment-making. Like all industrial machines, the overlock machine is really big and really heavy. It sits in a table with a motor mounted on the underside of the table. It is not designed for home use. So, back in the 60’s, home sewing machines were becoming more and more popular, and a couple of engineers at Juki thought it would be a great idea to invent a home overlock machine. They mocked up a design and presented their idea to their superiors, and the lore is that they were laughed out of the room. ‘Nobody is going to want to use an overlock machine at home!’ — that was the prevailing thought, so the idea was shot down. However, the engineers had a strong belief that their idea and their design, they believed it was marketable, so they quit their jobs at Juki and started their own company that made overlock machines for home use— overlock machines that were light and portable, similar to home sewing machines— mini overlock machine— BABY overlock machines— baby overlock machines— thus, the company was named BABY LOCK, that’s how Baby Lock came to be. They got a head start on the competition, plus they have a spirit of innovation embedded in the company’s DNA. In the 90’s, Baby Lock came out with two pieces of game changing technology: Air Threading for the upper and lower looper and Automatic Thread Delivery which replaces the traditional tension system and delivers a perfect stitch every time. Now it’s 2023, and Baby Lock is still King of the Sergers. They are the best. They make ultra-reliable machine that are easy to use and perform incredibly.”
The entire time I tell this origin story, the husband is riveted, sitting on the edge of his seat. Several times he starts to interrupt, but the wife elbows him in the rib to shut him up. When I ended the story, I turned to acknowledge him, and what he was so eager to say really surprised me:
”THAT IS JUST LIKE THE BEATLES!”
“The Beatles?”
“Yes the Beatles!!!”
”The band???”
”Yes!!! Just like Baby Lock. Baby Lock is The Beatles and Juki is Dick Rowe and Decca Records!! You haven’t heard the story of The Beatles audition for Decca Records?”
“I have not.”
“You’re so young! It’s very similar story to Baby Lock. It must have been the early 60’s. The Beatles were relatively unknown at the time, though the band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Their manager wanted to get them a record deal, and eventually he got them an audition with a record company called Decca Records, who were interested in potentially signing a record deal with the band. They auditioned in London but were turned down. Can you imagine? Turning down The Beatles. After the audition, one Decca’s employees, a guy named Dick Rowe, famously decided not to sign The Beatles and claimed that guitar groups are on the way out. So, Decca missed out. The Beatles went on to sign somewhere else and became the arguably the best band in history! Just like Baby Lock, huh? Baby Lock is The Beatles, and the company who rejected them is like Decca Records!”
I laughed. “There’s definitely a parallel between the two.”
Thank you for reading.
I hope you found the story informative. If you are in the market for a serger, I highly recommend you get a Baby Lock that is designed with both air-threading and Automatic Thread Delivery. You won’t regret it. They are incredibly reliable, easy to use, and perform incredibly. You might have heard that Baby Lock does not manufacture their own sewing and embroidery machines. This is true— the majority of Baby Lock machines over $500 are made by Brother. However, their sergers and coverstitch machines are made in their factory in Japan:
Thank you again.
Appreciate you all.
-Cale
Great story and great sale!
great topic. I have an older White serger for the occasional time I want to use a serger. Bought it used and learned the intricacies of threading and balancing tension. My dilemma is that I use it so infrequently that I have a hard time justifying the investment in a modern Babylock with the newer technology. So for now, I can just drool at others' equipment and know that, if I start needing more frequent serging (I mostly quilt and occasionally make a garment or two, mostly woven), I will head to the Babylock dealer!