I have long stopped worrying about matching serger thread with my garments, it became too aggravating. So I finally purchased a second serger and have one threaded with black and the other with off white. This works for me for most garments that I sew. I've now owned a serger for at least ten years, and rarely have to totally thread the thing because I use the tie on method of changing thread. Consequently, it's so rare that I have to thread loopers that I really don't remember the process from incident to incident. Note: My machine's manual is absolutely of no help!
I swear to you that my friend Ebony can thread a serger in three minutes flat! She has threaded mine lots of times. There were times when I couldn't get it threaded correctly that I'd put it in the car and drive over to the next town where she lived. Notice I said lived as in past tense, because she now lives in Oklahoma! She saw my Instagram serger post the other night and called me. Oh how I miss my Ebony.
Last night I decided it was high time that I mastered my serger situation, so I paid a visit to You Tube University to bone up on the subject. I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO! I think I've got it now, finally. There were so many "How to thread your serger" videos that there must be others like me out there needing help.
Have you ever lived with SERGER FRUSTRATION???
Serger frustration is real! I've spent hours at my serger (or overlocker, as I call it) threading and rethreading the damn thing but getting nowhere. I think I've got the hang of it now, but they are certainly temperamental beasts!
ReplyDeleteI keep my fingers crossed for both of on this one Siobhan!
DeleteAll of your reasons is why I bought a brand new Baby Lock so I didn't have to worry about changing the threads. So I understand!
ReplyDeleteI knowwwwww! I want a Baby Lock too!
DeleteI used to have serger frustration with my old Singer and Viking. They could literally make me cry. I finally bit the bullet a few years ago and bought a Baby Lock and now I can change the thread whenever I like and there is no crazy sequence to it and you don't have to fiddle with the tension. Baby Locks are expensive but well worth the money to me.
ReplyDeleteA Baby Lock serger is high on my wish list.
DeleteMy serger has great threading instructions right on the machine, as long as I don't misplace the tweezers, I'm good. It's trying to get the 2nd needle in that's driven me to tears and swearing. Trying to thread the cover stitch the first time got me frazzled - not nearly as clear instructions in the manual or on the machine.
ReplyDeleteI have had a mental block when trying to learn to thread the serger. Hopefully that part is over now.
DeleteYoutube University, I love that! I think you did the right thing by facing your serger head on, and practicing what you needed. That is what helped me with my own serger frustrations. I use the tie on method, but have practiced threadig so much that I don't get frazzled when I have to manually do it.
ReplyDeleteYes YouTube is invaluable at times. I certainly hpe that I have serger threading conquered.
DeleteI hear you!!! I learned to serge with a secondhand White serger that had many many issues. I felt like I spent more time futzing with the serger than actually serging. No fun! Then Dad bought me the Baby Lock Enlighten, which threads its own loopers and adjusts its own tension. It serges through many layers like a hot knife through butter. It is a JOY to serge with it, and switching colors is no problem. Highly recommend!!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh the Babylock serger - maybe one day for me!
DeleteI feel your serger threading frustration as well as the other posters! I love the idea of purchasing another serger so I could have 2 different colors. I wonder if I would have sewn so much in the last 59 years if a sewing machine were as difficult to thread? Karen
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to imagine having a sewing machine that is that hard to thread. Hope you get a second serger one day soon!
DeleteI also have a black serger and a white serger. I too have threading issues, although Jan at the sewing center has shown me how to thread it many times, using the tie-on method and the real way. I think the white one needs an adjustment because the threads aren't meshing up right, so after the blizzard, that sucker's going for a ride.
ReplyDeleteI hope your serger is purring like a kitten and making marvelous stitches once you have it adjusted Marjie.
DeleteMy first serger was one I purchased at a discount. Boy did that thing give me headaches and frustrations! It would jam. The threads would break. I would rethread it and still it wouldn't work at times. It was quite a surprise to me to learn that many sergers require that they be threaded in a certain sequence or they don't work. That realization helped me out a lot. Anyway, I upgraded to a Bernina combination serger/coverstitch machine. It produces a beautiful stitch but it has forced me to learn to thread it from scratch. Every time I use the coverstitch, I have to thread it in a totally different manner than the overlock stitches. Anyway, it was frustrating at first but now that I have done it so often, I can thread it quickly. Practice, practice, practice...
ReplyDeleteI know Tomasa practicing will definitely help me.
DeleteEvery time my serger drops its lower looper thread, I take it as a sign that it's time for tea. I do have a vintage Dressmaker (it's seafoam and otherwise a beauty) that for the life of me I can't figure out how to thread. Perhaps it's missing a part? I finally got it working the other day and was ready to sew...then I had to change thread. Ack. Back to square one.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it make you made when you think you've got it then in the blink of an eye you discover that you don't?
DeleteTotally understand! It took me a long time to finally master the task of threading my serger. Now I can't believe I'm actually one of those that change threads to match the color. There's definitely a lot of help on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's good to know you are not the only one. YouTube was a tremendous help!
DeleteI had a Viking serger that drove me nuts when it came to threading it. The manual was not so helpful and then there was no You Tube, I sold it on eBay and bought an Elna 733, which was a work horse and easy peasy to thread. I recently sewed it on eBay as I purchased a Babylock Imagine. Love the jet air threading for loopers. I haven't used You Tube for the serger, thank goodness there are other sewing tutorials on You Tube that have helped me when I have gotten stuck on a technique. Glad you got help for your serger threading issue!
ReplyDeleteI've seen the Imagine - such a beautiful machine. Hopefully one will show up at my house one day - I hope so.
DeleteI feel your pain! My poor suffering husband has long had to do it for me, I can do it but it takes me three times the amount of time it takes him. I keep mine threaded with White thread and almost never change it.
ReplyDeleteHi Stevie! I was almost certain there were others out there who could under my serger plight! I know you are happy to have a husband who can thread it for you. Wish I did!
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