Fun with sergers

I'm signed up for the serger basics class at my sewing store next Monday evening, the same day that we return from our vacation. The timing on this is perfect - I'll pick up my sewing machine and take the class the same day, and it means I'll spend less time unsure of what to do with my serger.

I've been reading through the owner's manual that came with the machine - the reviewers online were not exaggerating the problems in this manual. It took me a while to puzzle through the stitch settings for the machine, but I compared the manual to the Bernina Feetures book and was able to test out all of the 3-thread settings on the machine. As a trial project, I created a quick business card case out of some cotton fabric. I like how it came out - it's large enough to hold 20-30 cards depending on their thickness, and I added a pearl snap to the front.




I think it's going to take some time for me to get used to the counterintuitive features of this machine - several of my sewing habits won't work when serging. For example, I pick up the foot a lot as I'm working to turn corners, and I'm normally really diligent about backstitching to secure all my work. Neither of those would work on the serger. I also use the stitch guides on the sewing machine plate a lot, and while there are guides on the serger they don't work in the same way. For my trial project I actually drew the cutting line on the fabric so that I would know where to line it up - I'm hoping the class will give me some better ways to handle that situation. Overall, I really like the machine. It's not nearly as daunting as it first seemed at the store, and I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.