What Is My,Your,The Serger Sewing Machine?
For almost two decades, I have worked as a sewing machine technician. While most of the repairs and services I do deal with ordinary sewing machines, about one service out of five involves a serger. At first, I was threatened by working on sergers, because I was unfamiliar with them, but over time they have become much like any other service or repair.
Sergers are a bit mysterious. Many people sew for years and never even touch a serger. Indeed, many people have no clue what a serger even 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?
At the department store, people are busy looking for stuff themselves. They usually, look past you and ignore your presence. When you ask them a question, some people appear shocked or they just look past you in a blank stare. Fortunately, a few people were friendly and really tried to help me figure out what a serger is. People had some truly thoughtful opinions. A young boy thought it might be a team logo or a new video game. A lady thought it was a new type of fruit. One of the workers pointed me to hardware and said what I needed was a special kind of electrical fuse.
Now, your question remains. What is a serger?
A specialty sewing machine that sews a seam, overcasts the edge, and trims all in one pass is called a serger. Utility and decorative serger applications are common in clothing, and home decorating items. If the serged seam is hidden, it is said to be a utility stitch. If it is visible, it is considered a decorative application.
In 1846, Elias Howe patented the first practical sewing machine, but it was not until 1881 that the first serger was introduced by the Merrow Sewing Machine Company. This machine produced a two or three thread overlocking stitch often called a Merrow stitch. This provided a huge advancement over the typical straight stitch machine. The Merrow was able to sew a hem or seam while overcastting the edge of the fabric. In some cases this was done without trimming, but usually it included blades that trimmed the fabric leaving a beautifully finished edge.
Today the term serger has largely replaced its synonyms overlock and Merrow. Words like overcastting, overlocking, serging, and overedging are used (interchangeably|synonomously|the same.
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.
Overcastting stitches are produced on a serger by using lower and upper loopers, stitch fingers, and multiple threads. This compares to the locked stitch produced on most regular sewing machines that have hook assemblies and bobbins.
While the home serger is based on the heavy industrial sergers of the past, they are far more user friendly and offer a wider range of stitch options. Industrial sergers typically only sew a single overcastting stitch at between 5,000 and 9,500 stitches per minute. Home sergers may produce a handful of stitch variations up to 80 some different stitches. Home sergers are far easier to thread, adjust, and use than the industrial sergers. Home sergers operate between 1,500 stitches and 3,000 stitches per minute which is roughly twice the speed of a regular home sewing machine.
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 standard sewing machine.
So, simply stated: A serger (overlock, Merrow, overedge machine) 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. - 2361
Sergers are a bit mysterious. Many people sew for years and never even touch a serger. Indeed, many people have no clue what a serger even 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?
At the department store, people are busy looking for stuff themselves. They usually, look past you and ignore your presence. When you ask them a question, some people appear shocked or they just look past you in a blank stare. Fortunately, a few people were friendly and really tried to help me figure out what a serger is. People had some truly thoughtful opinions. A young boy thought it might be a team logo or a new video game. A lady thought it was a new type of fruit. One of the workers pointed me to hardware and said what I needed was a special kind of electrical fuse.
Now, your question remains. What is a serger?
A specialty sewing machine that sews a seam, overcasts the edge, and trims all in one pass is called a serger. Utility and decorative serger applications are common in clothing, and home decorating items. If the serged seam is hidden, it is said to be a utility stitch. If it is visible, it is considered a decorative application.
In 1846, Elias Howe patented the first practical sewing machine, but it was not until 1881 that the first serger was introduced by the Merrow Sewing Machine Company. This machine produced a two or three thread overlocking stitch often called a Merrow stitch. This provided a huge advancement over the typical straight stitch machine. The Merrow was able to sew a hem or seam while overcastting the edge of the fabric. In some cases this was done without trimming, but usually it included blades that trimmed the fabric leaving a beautifully finished edge.
Today the term serger has largely replaced its synonyms overlock and Merrow. Words like overcastting, overlocking, serging, and overedging are used (interchangeably|synonomously|the same.
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.
Overcastting stitches are produced on a serger by using lower and upper loopers, stitch fingers, and multiple threads. This compares to the locked stitch produced on most regular sewing machines that have hook assemblies and bobbins.
While the home serger is based on the heavy industrial sergers of the past, they are far more user friendly and offer a wider range of stitch options. Industrial sergers typically only sew a single overcastting stitch at between 5,000 and 9,500 stitches per minute. Home sergers may produce a handful of stitch variations up to 80 some different stitches. Home sergers are far easier to thread, adjust, and use than the industrial sergers. Home sergers operate between 1,500 stitches and 3,000 stitches per minute which is roughly twice the speed of a regular home sewing machine.
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 standard sewing machine.
So, simply stated: A serger (overlock, Merrow, overedge machine) 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. - 2361
About the Author:
Every serger user should learn how to do their own Sewing machine repair. Author David Trumble makes it easy with is detailed 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.
posted by Marcondes Allen at 2:46 AM
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