Serger Notes From Class

Sergerscan beintimidating and it was YEARS before I started messing with my adjustments. I have a Bernina that is about 10 years old. I have a little arm in the front that I move forward for a rolled hem. Then I turn my two dials on the right side of my machineall the way to the smallest stitches. like .07 or something. all the way. And when I serge my seams, you see how I like to press them open, well, really how your serger stitches will do depends upon the weight of the fabric and the weight of the thread just like your regular sewing machine does. So my tensions on my serger threads stay at about 6 to 6.5 all the time unless something weird is going on. And I dial my dials on the right side of my machine, one of them is called the differential and I am not sure what the other one is called, length? Anyway, my machine will sew with a 4 thread but I do not use it. The 4th thread makes my serged stitches too wide. AND the 4th thread is not important for what we do anyway. The forth thread, the one that gees out on the far left, is supposed to be your seam stitch. SO when you are sewing like an interlock knit something that is an all serged garment, that is your seam stitch. So, when I am serging I only use three threads. I shorten my length by the dial on the right side of my machine until I get what I want. The reason I use a much closer stitch most of the time is to avoid rolling and puckering and those beards that stick out on a fabric that ravels. You can experiment by putting 3 and 4 different colors of thread into your serger and then dialing the dials on the right and see all the different things you get. That really is how decorative stitching is done anyway. When I am doing decorative serging, I like to buy wooly nylon threads. Anyway, if your serged edge and seam are looped around too far one side or the other or pulling tight or going loose, that is in your tensions. Your tensions should match if your machine is working properly, so 6, 6. 6, or 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, they would only vary like 6.5.6.25,6.5. So if the looped edge of the serged edge is not sitting flat just at the edge of your fabric, your tension is off. Just dial it a bit and see what changes. This is also where your adjustments can change when you go from like a lightweight cotton to a denim. Also, if you are using regular cone serger thread like they sell at Joanns or Hancocks, that is a two ply thread and they all act the same. That is best. You can use your regular sewing thread but that is a three ply thread and not really meant for serging all the time. I like the cone thread for hand sewing better than spool thread because the two ply handles better for me anyway.Have fun with it. And do not forget to look up where you should put the oil, buy a good machine oil if it did not gee with your serger and oil about ever 17 - 20 hours of serging time unless your machine manual says differently. And blow off all that stuff after every garment, cause it really builds up sometimes and can cause your machine to get the hiccups :-).