Here are some general guidelines to follow when using a serger. These guidelines are not arranged in any order of importance, they're all important. Refer to them often until they become ingrained as serger habits. Most serger habits are different from sewing machine habits.

 

Threading

• Loosen the tensions all the way when threading. This allows the thread to properly seat itself between the tension disks. Reset the tensions after threading is completed. You have to turn those dials! Some sergers have a tension release and do not need to be reset manually.

• If you tie on to rethread DON'T SEW THE KNOTS THROUGH YOUR MACHINE! Set the tension to zero, work the chain loose behind the foot, and pull one or all the threads through by hand. Use the tweezers and grab the thread behind the eye to pull one thread through at a time. Unthread the needle eyes before pulling the thread through so you don't bend the needles!

• If the lower looper thread breaks, ALWAYS UNTHREAD THE NEEDLES BEFORE THREADING THE LOWER LOOPER. If you don't, the needle thread will be trapped between the lower looper and the lower looper thread. You will have to rethread because the lower looper thread will break again when you take a stitch. When the needle threads are first threaded, the thread goes through the eye and straight back. When the first stitch is made, the needle thread goes under the needle plate and wraps around the lower looper from front to back and then goes into the thread chain. If you thread the lower looper from scratch and leave the needle threads wrapped around the lower looper, the needle threads will be trapped and cause the lower looper thread to break repeatedly until you remove the needle threads from being trapped between the lower looper and the lower looper thread.

• Always thread a serger in the correct order. This may vary from brand to brand so check the manual for the recommended threading order. This is an important step to follow. This helps reduce the chance of trapping the threads. Make sure to get comfortable with the threading order for your serger.

Needles

• NEEDLES SHOULD BE CHANGED FREQUENTLY TO INSURE THE BEST STITCH QUALITY. Dull or bent needles can cause skipped stitches, thread breakage, tension problems, and damage to the fabric. Change them at least as often as every 3 garments worth of serging. Change them more often if you do a lot of serging on each project. BAD NEEDLES CAUSE BAD PROBLEMS! Changing needles is often the best stress reducer there is. Some of the most common problems I run across are due to using old or damaged needles. People spend hours in frustration trying to adjust and/or "fix" their serger (which causes "STRESS"). All they needed to do was change their needles! This would have given them a lot of extra time to accomplish something. Sewing has been proven to be beneficial and reduce stress. BUT ONLY IF YOU PUT NEW NEEDLES IN YOUR SERGER WHEN NEEDED!

• USE THE CORRECT SIZE AND TYPE OF NEEDLE FOR THE SERGER AND FOR THE FABRIC YOU ARE SEWING. The manual will have a chart to tell what size and type of needle to use in your serger for different types of fabric. Be sure to have extra needles on hand.

Serging

• ALWAYS TEST SERGE ON A SCRAP OF THE FABRIC YOU WILL BE USING. Make all the necessary tension, length, and width adjustments on the scrap before you serge your project.

• ALWAYS LEAVE A 4" CHAIN OF THREAD BEHIND THE FOOT. This will help prevent the thread from jamming the next time you start serging. It helps to hold the chain with your fingertips as you start serging the first few stitches.

Sit down at your serger. Raise the presser foot, and then tap on the foot pedal while watching the chain of thread at the same time. See how the thread jumps? That's what usually causes a tangled mess that results in rethreading. If you hold the thread chain by just laying a couple of fingers on it when you first start to serge, the speed of the machine won't yank the threads back into the loopers and get tangled. You can also get a tangle if the chain is cut too short. It will sort of jump forward when the serger starts and gets in the way of the new stitches that are being formed.

• ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT THE STITCHING LOOKS LIKE AS YOU SERGE. We look at the front of the needle so much we forget to look and see the results of our efforts. If a thread becomes snagged or is wrapped around something, that can cause some funny looking stitches to occur. You can often repair a problem with minimal effort if you catch it soon enough.

• DON'T SERGE OVER PINS! It will damage your knife blades. Learn to "finger pin" as you serge. Use as few pins as possible. Try to use pins with large heads in a contrasting color to the fabric. Place them at a 90° angle several inches from the edge of the fabric, and they will be out of the way as you serge by them.

• MAKE SURE THE THREAD IS FEEDING OFF THE SPOOLS PROPERLY. If the thread is caught or twisted, you will have strange results in your serging (skipped or irregular stitches, thread breaking, tension problems).

• Check the position of the blade before serging. Make sure the blade is either fully engaged in position to cut or is totally disengaged. Turn the blade or knob until it fully clicks into or out of place.

• Always have the doors closed when serging. We don't want you or the fabric to get caught in the moving parts. There are some sergers will not operate if the foot pedal is pushed when the doors are open.

• Don't push or pull the fabric as you serge. Let the feed dogs pull the fabric through the serger. All you need to do is guide the fabric and let the serger do the work. You can bend the needles by pulling the fabric.

Cleaning

• CLEAN THE LINT AND FABRIC OUT OF YOUR MACHINE OFTEN. Use ozone-safe canned air and a small brush. Makeup brushes are great for cleaning lint from sergers. You can also buy a set of small attachments for the vacuum cleaner designed for use with machines, computers, and other equipment. These attachments can be found in vacuum and sewing stores or through mail order sources.

• OIL YOUR MACHINE REGULARLY with a good sewing machine oil (only use sewing machine oil). All sergers need oiling. Check your manual for specifics on where to put the oil. You should oil most sergers about every 8 to 10 hours of use. If it has been sitting unused for a while, oil it before using.

I highly recommend that you get a copy of The Ultimate Serger Answer Guide (see Serger Books) to answer your troubleshooting questions.

All copyrights for SergeArt©, and other serger information at this site are property of Diane Bossom, owner of Creative Journey Designs. All rights reserved. This site designed by Diane Bossom 1999, 2005