Taming the Serger (AKA, my serger saga)

I'd wanted a serger for a long time and last fall, about 6 months ago I saved some money and after spending hours on reading online reviews, Brother 1034D was on the way from Costco. It arrived threaded with tiny sample spools of thread, I had fun serging scraps of fabric while trying to get a hang of the machine and then... one of the threads ran out. That was it. I agonized over the prospect of re-threading the beast on my own, after all, the book said that all the threading had to be done in strict order, otherwise machine would explode into my face...

Now I realize that I was a bit over reacting and feel quite silly that I kept hiding from my serger all these months without even attempting to thread it. Well, 2 nights ago I sat down, skipped the instructional video and brochure and went straight to the diagram on the inside of my serger. That was the most clear and easy set of directions on how to thread my machine. Three minutes later I was chaining off.

One good lesson that I learned, at least with the model of serger that I have, is that all the precise instructions and reviews that mentioned threading were quite paralyzing for me. Thanks to them I always felt like I had to SUFFER through the first few attempts of threading and then it would get easier. I didn't even think that threading a serger could be EASY even if the set of paths and holes is quite different from the sewing machine. All these months I kept thinking that I didn't have time to sit down and watch instructional videos in order to start operating the beast. In reality, all I used in the last 2 days to do my work on the serger was the threading diagram and the skimpy looking manufacturers brochure. Oh, and the best part? You DON'T have to thread those 4 paths in their strict order (upper looper, lower looper, right needle, left needle). Once you see how those threads fall into their paths, you can easily re-thread just one specific path. Sweet!

We are friends now, my serger and I. I finished leggings for Anya last night (Ottobre, Spring 09), made with old t-shirts. I'm quickly getting hooked on this machine. And it may not seem to be worth mentioning, but I had a long time dream of chopping a few of onesies and turning them into shirts. Now it's done and I'm amazed by the simple genius of this 'project' and how well it suits our needs.

We often make mistake of leaving folded laundry on the couch overnight. Then Anya gets a hold of it in the morning and I can't deprive her of joy of playing with our nicely folded clothes.