Kicking off Sewing with Sergers Week

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Welcome to Sewing with Sergers Week!

I am so excited. I thought it would be fun to kick off the week with a few common questions just to have us all on the same page. Then I know there are some great projects in store. Honestly I received my serger for Christmas and I haven’t even used it until this week.

Why you ask? INTIMIDATION! I have gotten so accustomed to not having a serger that I never thought to use it on my every day sewing.

Why did you feel you needed a Serger? Well I love sewing items for my children and myself and I hate open seams with the frayed edges. Nothing says homemade like frayed seams. I was always told by my mother that the garmet should look as pretty on the inside as it does on the outside. Aside from finishing with french seams (another future post perhaps) a serger will leave you with clean lines that look professional.

What else can you use your Serger for? The second reason I wanted a serger was for knits. Knits are so difficult to me. All the movement of the fabric and the stretch you really need the right stitch and a serger will leave you with a finished look.

What kind of machine do you own? I have a Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger. I bought it from Fabric.com (via my husband when they had their Christmas sale. Everything $200 or more was 30% off. So honestly I got mine for a steal at just $165!! It is listed now at just $235 and that is still a fantastic deal. Why a Brother? I love Brother machines. They are the middle of the road for the most part, totally affordable and with great results.

Any other tips? Just go for it. Once I opened it up and started it was easy and I have found so many more uses for it now. Also, read your manual.

GUEST TIPS:

My good friend Jessica from Me Sew Crazy had a few more tips and tricks to share with us today:

1) when prewashing your fabric – serge all edges first. This prevents the fraying and having to cut off all those little strings when they come out of the dryer. AWESOME. I also like how it won’t make your fabric bunch in the dryer like I get sometimes when washing cottons.

2) when working with gathering stitches, before sewing that basting stitch line – serge that edge. Then sew the basting stitches and gather – this prevents all of that string from pulling loose when you are gathering! Love it!!! YAY, I LOVE THIS TIP.

Using these tips should help all of us this week. We really want to see what you are working on so don’t forget to link up your projects on Wed. Otherwise tune it for the fun!