I Have the Urge to Serge!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I had just bought a serger. I have never owned a serger before and in all honesty, I was getting along fine without one. I'd sew a seam and then I'd go back and zig-zag the seam so that the fabric wouldn't ravel - not difficult to do, just a bit time consuming. Although I didn't need a serger, I had been contemplating the purchase of one for several months now. I read every bit of info I could find - I wanted to make an informed decision. Well, ideally, I wanted the Babylock Imagine, but after getting a price quote of close to $2000 (this included the machine, 6 feet and taxes), I figured I might want to try out something less pricey just to be sure that I really wanted a serger.

So, when I saw that Sears had their two sergers on sale, I went to check them out. One machine retails for $649 (on sale for $449), the other machine retails for $349 (on sale for $279). When I asked the saleswoman about the differences between the two, she convinced me that the less expensive model was just as good as the other model. So, I figured I'd go for the less expensive one and pocket the $170 difference.

To the left is a picture of my new machine. It's not fancy - it doesn't have jet-air threading and it doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles. However, I have put this baby through its paces the last few days and I am really pleased with it. It is a Kenmore 16622 and it has everything that I need for now:

• cutting width adjustment up to 7.3 mm
• decorative stitching
• differential feed
• rolled hemming stitches
• picot edging and narrow hemming
• pin tucking
• overedging

A concern for me was how noisy this machine was going to be. The saleswoman implied that it was a bit loud. However, I don't find it loud at all - it's really not a lot louder than my sewing machine when it's cranking along at top speed.

I was also a little worried at first about threading this machine; at first glance it looked so complicated. However, I sat down with my manual and figured it out. Now, after one mishap (I forgot that the loopers and needles have to be threaded in a specific order), I can thread this machine completely from scratch (without tying on) in approximately 2 minutes. Not bad for a novice, eh?

All in all, I'm glad I went for an inexpensive starter machine. At some point, I will likely upgrade to the Babylock Imagine (or another high end serger), but for now my little Kenmore is plenty. If I do purchase another machine, I will likely get a dedicated coverstitch machine and then look into a higher end serger. But, time will tell!