Many people seem to think that if they don’t sew clothes, they don’t need a serger.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Sergers are also great for home décor.  Curtains, pillowcases, quick blankets that don’t require lots of piecing, napkins, table runners, etc.  While it is true that sergers won’t replace your sewing machine, they will certainly make your projects go faster while giving you nice clean seams.

Sergers are great with fabric that ravels easily as well as knits.  Most sergers built now have a differential feed mechanism which will either correct a sewing problem or create a special effect.  Are your knits rippling as you sew?  Turn the differential feed knob (or lever) towards a higher number and the fabric will feed in faster than it goes out the back, which will make the knit seam smooth out.  Seams puckering as you sew?  Turn the differential feed to a slightly lower number and the seam will stop puckering.

On the other hand, if you want to gather fabric for a ruffle, turn your differential knob as high as it will go, tighten your needle tensions a couple of numbers, and your fabric will gather as you serge.  Or maybe you want the lettuce edge on the rolled hem of a knit fabric.  Turn your differential feed knob to the lowest number and you will get beautiful ripples.  It all depends on the effect you want.

They are also great to use in conjunction with sewing machines on the same project.  Embroider a name or design on the band of a pillowcase on your sewing machine.

Sew the seams of the pillowcase on your serger.

Finish on your sewing machine by sewing a decorative stitch over the seam of the band on the pillowcase.

This lingerie bag was done almost entirely on a serger.  The laces were serged together and the bag itself was stitched on the serger.  The only thing done on the sewing machine was the decorative stitches on the middle satin strip, the topstitching around the edge of the bag, and sewing on the ribbon ties.

Switching between serger and sewing machine helps to finish projects quickly and easily!

The embroidery was done on a Pfaff Creative 2144.  Pillowcases and lingerie bag were serged on the Pfaff Coverlock 4862.  Decorative stitches were done on the Pfaff Creative Sensation Pro II.