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My new serger, aka WTF


 I caved and opened my new serger.  At least I waited until after my first paper was done so do I get half credit?  I'll take half credit when there are so few days left in class.

Folks, I was not ready for this.  What even is all of this?  I've never even used a serger before, I just wanted a faster and neater way to finish raw edges.  What is this thing?


There's four threads coming in.  There's two needles.  I really didn't expect that.  It shipped pre-threaded so I thought I would be able to just sit down and get a feel for it.  First thing that happens is it unthreds.  Well, okay, I'll just rethead that needle, no big deal.  Hm, not working now.  I'll check the quick start guide to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be.


10 steps to thread just one of those four threads?  And everything is so tiny that they include a set of tweezers.  I read that the order is important and since thread 3 has unthreaded and it tried to stitch without that thread, I need to rethread 1 and 2.  Ugggggh.  Fine, unthread everything and start rethreading the serger.  I spent an hour trying to get this thing to work.  Nope.  I narrowed it down to just the one thread going over the looper.  I could not figure out how to get it over the looper, not for love nor money.  I'm just dyslexic enough to make it almost impossible for me to follow a couple of photos trying to show a 3D action in 2D.  I stormed out of the sewing room to find some chardonnay.

Fortunately my husband found me and he has completely normal spatial awareness AND learned how to use a serger in high school.  He left me to my chardonnay and went to deal with my machine.  Sure enough, it was just the one looper that wasn't set right.  He got it running a treat in about 15 minutes and sent me back to try to learn my new machine.

Once it's running, it's really pretty straightforward.  Put fabric under foot.  Get your fingers the hell out of the way of the knife and both needles and the presser foot that is spring loaded.  Push on the foot pedal.  Get pretty finishes on your raw edges.


Yes, I finished my black lining fabric with white thread.  No way I was going to change colors after all of that.  Now that it's working I'm really quite delighted.  This wool blend is a loose weave and frays like crazy. With all of the edges overlocked I can handle the fabric without it falling apart.  It looks so fancy and professional!  

My sewing room is looking a bit cramped by very serious business with the new addition.

Edges are finished and the skirt is now coming together.  Should have it finished this weekend, assuming my final paper comes together quickly.  If there's one thing my MBA program has taught me it's how to throw a bunch of fancy words into a document in a hurry.

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