I remember the first time a customer brought me a serger to repair. I was lost. Everything I had learned about standard sewing machines was lost because sergers are different. Over the years, however, I have worked on hundreds and generally find them as easy to service as regular sewing machines.
Do you know what an overedge machine is? Did you know that many people do not. It is true, many people including many who enjoy sewing and quilting have never used or even know what a serger is.
So, I decided to find out what ordinary people thought of sergers. To do so, I visited a local Walmart, with my shopping list. As I walked down the aisle of different departments, I stopped people and asked them (total strangers). Do you know what a serger is? or Do you know where I could find a serger?
You may not be as bewildered as I was by the range of stunned looks and puzzling responses. One lady said, I think that is one of those new video games over there. An older gentleman answered, Sure, you will find that in electrical supplies. I stopped asking after my fifth point of confusion. Apparently, sergers are an electrical part, a new game, a special kind of clap on lamp, a team sweatshirt, and of course some people just said they had no idea.
So, just what is a serger?
A serger is a specialty sewing machine that sews a seam, overcasts the fabric edge, and trims the fabric all in a single pass at a speed usually twice that of a ordinary sewing machine. There are essentially two types of serger sewing: utility and decorative. Utility serging is commonly found inside garments, pillows, and other projects where the serged seam is generally hidden from view. Decorative serging is just the opposite. Decorative serger aims to add distinction by serging seams that are obvious to the onlooker. Decorative serging can be found in many home dcor items as well as clothing items.
Nearly forty years after the first sewing machine was patented, the Merrow Sewing Machine Company launched their Merrowing or overlocking machine in 1881. While most ordinary sewing machines sewed straight stitches, the Merrow machine produced an overcastting stitch that sewed a hem, overcastted the fabric edge, and trimmed the fabric all at once. This was the origin on the modern serger.
The terms serger, overlock, and Merrow all refer to this specialty sewing machine. The sewing is oftendescribed as serging, overlocking, merrowing, overcastting, or overedging.
Sergers were the domain of industry and factories until 1964, when the Baby Lock brand of home sergers launched. Several engineers at Juki had envisioned a scaled down version of the heavy industrial serger, but the Juki company was not interested. So the professionals formed their own new company and launched Baby Lock home sergers.
Unlike the ordinary sewing machine that uses needle and hook assemblies to create interlocking stitches, the serger uses devices called loopers. A lower looper and an upper looper assist interact with the needle to create the overlocking stitches. Instead of using a shuttle or bobbin, the serger uses multiple cones of thread guided through tension assemblies to the loopers and needle. Sergers also use special needle plates with stitch fingers or horizontal needle fingers to help form the stitches.
Sergers double the speed of ordinary home sewing machines, but are far slower than their big sister industrial sergers. Home sergers are designed to for convenience and creativity. They are much lighter, smaller, sleeker, and more user friendly than the heavy duty industrial models. Industrials commonly sew up to 9,500 stitches per minute, but only produce one overcastting stitch. Home sergers sew between 1,500 and 3,000 stitches per minute and may produce a dozen or two different overedging stitches.
The serger may use two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight different threads in various combinations to produce an amazing array of different utility and decorative overcastting stitches. Baby Lock a serger capable of producing up to 86 different serging stitches.
Today the home serger has become an integral part of a quality sewing room set up. It is capable of streamlining sewing projects producing far better quality while cutting sewing time in half. Yet, it does not replace the regular sewing machine.
What is a serger? It is a particular type ofsewing machine that enables you to sew a hem, overedge, and trim the fabric in one pass through your machine at roughly twice the speed of a standard sewing machine.
Do you know what an overedge machine is? Did you know that many people do not. It is true, many people including many who enjoy sewing and quilting have never used or even know what a serger is.
So, I decided to find out what ordinary people thought of sergers. To do so, I visited a local Walmart, with my shopping list. As I walked down the aisle of different departments, I stopped people and asked them (total strangers). Do you know what a serger is? or Do you know where I could find a serger?
You may not be as bewildered as I was by the range of stunned looks and puzzling responses. One lady said, I think that is one of those new video games over there. An older gentleman answered, Sure, you will find that in electrical supplies. I stopped asking after my fifth point of confusion. Apparently, sergers are an electrical part, a new game, a special kind of clap on lamp, a team sweatshirt, and of course some people just said they had no idea.
So, just what is a serger?
A serger is a specialty sewing machine that sews a seam, overcasts the fabric edge, and trims the fabric all in a single pass at a speed usually twice that of a ordinary sewing machine. There are essentially two types of serger sewing: utility and decorative. Utility serging is commonly found inside garments, pillows, and other projects where the serged seam is generally hidden from view. Decorative serging is just the opposite. Decorative serger aims to add distinction by serging seams that are obvious to the onlooker. Decorative serging can be found in many home dcor items as well as clothing items.
Nearly forty years after the first sewing machine was patented, the Merrow Sewing Machine Company launched their Merrowing or overlocking machine in 1881. While most ordinary sewing machines sewed straight stitches, the Merrow machine produced an overcastting stitch that sewed a hem, overcastted the fabric edge, and trimmed the fabric all at once. This was the origin on the modern serger.
The terms serger, overlock, and Merrow all refer to this specialty sewing machine. The sewing is oftendescribed as serging, overlocking, merrowing, overcastting, or overedging.
Sergers were the domain of industry and factories until 1964, when the Baby Lock brand of home sergers launched. Several engineers at Juki had envisioned a scaled down version of the heavy industrial serger, but the Juki company was not interested. So the professionals formed their own new company and launched Baby Lock home sergers.
Unlike the ordinary sewing machine that uses needle and hook assemblies to create interlocking stitches, the serger uses devices called loopers. A lower looper and an upper looper assist interact with the needle to create the overlocking stitches. Instead of using a shuttle or bobbin, the serger uses multiple cones of thread guided through tension assemblies to the loopers and needle. Sergers also use special needle plates with stitch fingers or horizontal needle fingers to help form the stitches.
Sergers double the speed of ordinary home sewing machines, but are far slower than their big sister industrial sergers. Home sergers are designed to for convenience and creativity. They are much lighter, smaller, sleeker, and more user friendly than the heavy duty industrial models. Industrials commonly sew up to 9,500 stitches per minute, but only produce one overcastting stitch. Home sergers sew between 1,500 and 3,000 stitches per minute and may produce a dozen or two different overedging stitches.
The serger may use two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight different threads in various combinations to produce an amazing array of different utility and decorative overcastting stitches. Baby Lock a serger capable of producing up to 86 different serging stitches.
Today the home serger has become an integral part of a quality sewing room set up. It is capable of streamlining sewing projects producing far better quality while cutting sewing time in half. Yet, it does not replace the regular sewing machine.
What is a serger? It is a particular type ofsewing machine that enables you to sew a hem, overedge, and trim the fabric in one pass through your machine at roughly twice the speed of a standard sewing machine.
About the Author:
Every user can now discover how to do their own Sewing machine repair. Technical Writer David Trumble makes it easy with is helpful tips, tricks, and courses including topics like white overlock machine problems and his free beginner's book 7 Steps To Peak Performance For Your Sewing Machine.
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