Today’s article aims to answer the most common questions that a sewing enthusiast might have regarding sergers: What is a serger? Why would I want to use a serger instead of a sewing machine? What are the best sergers? What is the best serger for beginners? Can sergers do coverstitch?
I dream to have a babylock serger. At the moment my cheap brother is holding down the fort. I had to replace the pedal because it never worked properly.
Excellent article! The video of the Babylock factory in Japan demonstrates the passion that all the workers have for making a high quality product. And I loved the story of how the manager's father developed the automatic tension system (it is worth watching the video just for that!). I have an older (20+ years) Babylock Evolve that is still going strong. But when It finally bites the dust, I plan to buy the Babylock Acclaim.
Thanks for the posting. I mostly quilt, so I historically had little use for a serger. But in the past few years I have begun to make some garments, and also I have found that serging the raw edges of a quilt before binding it can make the edge more stable and easier to bind. I have a manual older serger (a White Superlock Electronic 1900) that I bought reconditioned, and it does the trick for my limited needs - although I have spent a number of hours threading and rethreading the machine to get a good finished edge. I have explored air threading systems, and the concept appeals to me - but I have heard that the air threaders work best with standard weight serger thread and aren't as predictable with wooly nylon and other decorative threads. What's been your experience?
I, too dream of a Babylock with air threading and ATD. But for the price of the more expensive sergers, you could get a decent industrial. Do you know how they compare to, say, a merrow or Juki industrial 4 thread overlock/ serger? I actually don't mind threading, I usually just snip the old thread near the spool, tie on new thread, and pull it through (with the presser foot raised, of course :) I had a Janome coverstitch which I hated, and ended up getting an industrial (Kansai Special) and it was like night and day. The industrial just WORKED. I have yet to have to change thread tension more than a smidge, and I am in love with the servo motor. If I could switch to all-industrial I would, but I don't have room!
I would like to see a comparison to other machines. This just says you like baby loc. I do know others have air threaders also. Why do they not get mentioned
Hi Janis. It's true that there are other brands with air-threading sergers, but they are not less expensive than Baby Lock sergers and they are not better quality, so I choose to not focus on them.
Thank for this serger information. I have used a Viking Huskylock 1000 serger for years and am fine with threading it and adjusting the tensions myself but I have a question. Do these newer sergers have those 2 little pins embedded in the throat plate right under the presser foot, little pins that the thread loops around? In spite of being very careful to always guide fabric straight back, those little pins fall out from time to time. I can put them back in place with lots of super glue but that does not hold forever. Is there anything that will hold those little needles in place? Spare throat plates with new pins are costly and hard to find. The first time I lost the pins, two local repair shops failed to find the problem but luckily a retired sewing machine repair person was able to point it out to me.
I dream to have a babylock serger. At the moment my cheap brother is holding down the fort. I had to replace the pedal because it never worked properly.
Excellent article! The video of the Babylock factory in Japan demonstrates the passion that all the workers have for making a high quality product. And I loved the story of how the manager's father developed the automatic tension system (it is worth watching the video just for that!). I have an older (20+ years) Babylock Evolve that is still going strong. But when It finally bites the dust, I plan to buy the Babylock Acclaim.
Thanks for the posting. I mostly quilt, so I historically had little use for a serger. But in the past few years I have begun to make some garments, and also I have found that serging the raw edges of a quilt before binding it can make the edge more stable and easier to bind. I have a manual older serger (a White Superlock Electronic 1900) that I bought reconditioned, and it does the trick for my limited needs - although I have spent a number of hours threading and rethreading the machine to get a good finished edge. I have explored air threading systems, and the concept appeals to me - but I have heard that the air threaders work best with standard weight serger thread and aren't as predictable with wooly nylon and other decorative threads. What's been your experience?
I, too dream of a Babylock with air threading and ATD. But for the price of the more expensive sergers, you could get a decent industrial. Do you know how they compare to, say, a merrow or Juki industrial 4 thread overlock/ serger? I actually don't mind threading, I usually just snip the old thread near the spool, tie on new thread, and pull it through (with the presser foot raised, of course :) I had a Janome coverstitch which I hated, and ended up getting an industrial (Kansai Special) and it was like night and day. The industrial just WORKED. I have yet to have to change thread tension more than a smidge, and I am in love with the servo motor. If I could switch to all-industrial I would, but I don't have room!
I would like to see a comparison to other machines. This just says you like baby loc. I do know others have air threaders also. Why do they not get mentioned
Hi Janis. It's true that there are other brands with air-threading sergers, but they are not less expensive than Baby Lock sergers and they are not better quality, so I choose to not focus on them.
Thank for this serger information. I have used a Viking Huskylock 1000 serger for years and am fine with threading it and adjusting the tensions myself but I have a question. Do these newer sergers have those 2 little pins embedded in the throat plate right under the presser foot, little pins that the thread loops around? In spite of being very careful to always guide fabric straight back, those little pins fall out from time to time. I can put them back in place with lots of super glue but that does not hold forever. Is there anything that will hold those little needles in place? Spare throat plates with new pins are costly and hard to find. The first time I lost the pins, two local repair shops failed to find the problem but luckily a retired sewing machine repair person was able to point it out to me.
Loved this breakdown! Do you recommend looking into an older used Babylock machine if we’re on a budget, such as the Babylock Imagine?
Yes, a pre-owned Baby Lock Imagine is great value. It's very similar to the Victory, with both air-threading and ATD