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Monday, June 16, 2014

Any serger advice?

I am thinking about buying a serger. My sewing machine is from the 50s and it only does a straight stitch. I think having a serger would be a nice addition to my arsenal. 

Do you have any brand or model you would recommend? I want it to either come from Craigslist and be cheap, or cost less than 300 bucks. 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

14 comments:

  1. I use a Brother Serger, the 1034D, and I'm happy with it. I've had it almost a year, and the only thing that has gone wrong with it, was needing to replace the needle plate that broke. That was my fault though: I yanked a piece of denim through and bent the needle, which then struck the plate and snapped off this little super important piece, oops! After replacing that, it's works good as new! I also found that learning to thread it, was super straightfoward and easy to do from memory after a few times following the guide. It's available on Amazon for $191.50 today with free shipping if you're a Prime member.

    Good luck in your search!

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  2. From Australia, that is a pretty good deal. I have a 20 year old Singer 4 thread (no differential feed model) and it's been great, but I would suggest whatever you get, make sure your budget includes some lessons - you don't need much time, but boy it saves some aggravation (and we all know there can be lots of aggravation with overlockers!) Good luck in the search.

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  3. I bought a second hand baby lock imagine on eBay a couple of years ago - the white plastic was a bit faded but it had hardly been used. It's so easy to use - threading is quick (it has jet air threaders) and I haven't had any headaches with tension. I think it's probably a better machine than a newer basic serger, if you can find one for a good price.

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  4. I also have a Brother 1034D & recommend it. I've had it over 4 years & haven't had any problems. It's a trooper with several layers of denim & anything fine & slippery. Just save your cutting scraps to check tension settings on. There's a ton of bloggers out there with one too. It's a great basic model.

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  5. I also bought a second hand BabyLock on Ebay - I don't think it had ever been used . It is so simple to thread and use I love it. In a big city you might find a second hand one at a dealer? much less risky than ebay.

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    1. I will look into dealers. There is a sewing machine store less than a 10 min walk away and I still haven't gone there!

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  6. I also have a Brother 1034D. I love it. I have had it 2 years now? and I haven't had any problems with it. It is a great machine for the price - and it can take a beating. Mine likes to squeak at me if I go really fast but I read that I should have oiled it before using it the first time and maybe that is why. I'm terrible with the oil - like only doing it ever 3-4 months and I use my serger daily. It is a trooper!

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  7. I have a white speedylock 1600 with differential feed. It was $45 on Craigslist. It's amazing! They are older but it's a total workhorse. They are a bit difficult to thread but you do get used to it. If you do find a good one on CL make sure it has differential feed for doing knits. I sew primarily off of a 1946 singer 201 and the serger has made a huge difference in sewing time and quality.

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    1. I was just looking at a White on CL, but the guy sold it before I could drive there and get it.

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  8. I also have a 1034D Brother, I love it and it's so simple to thread. Other sergers I've had are almost impossible to thread! I ended up not using them and getting rid of them because I didn't want to spend all my sewing time trying to thread my serger. There's also lots of info out there on techniques you can do with this very popular serger.

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Thanks for your thoughts and feedback!