serger

DIY, how to, overlocker, overlockers, serger, Sewing, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Overlocker tips: Burying thread tails

11/07/16

I have a few overlocker related posts in the works.Â Burbling away in the background. One in particular is quite exciting to the geek in me. And if you follow me on Instagram you may already know what that one will be about 😉

I’ve noticed a few “new overlockers” popping up on my feeds courtesy of another Lidl/Aldi deal. And because I have a few knit projects going on I thought it would be perfect timing to take a few pics as I go of the various little techniques involved in using an overlocker, for those of you who are new to this magnificent piece of kit. Be sure to check out these posts too if you’re a little nervous of your “beast”,Â and you’ll have it tamed in no time. But trust me, (because I’ve been there) it is very much worth your time, getting to know your machine properly at the start. You’ll feel so much more at ease when you come to sew a garment that you care about getting right, with fabric you care about not wasting, if you take a little time before hand to get to know, and have a play with your machine on scraps/samples first. And these posts (covering anatomy, threading, and tension settings) should give you a good jumping off point. Â Just click on the imageÂ to view each post….

But in the meantime I thought I’d share a finishing tip for thread tails. Just as with sewing a standard seam, you’ll have thread tails to secure and finish. Firstly, there is no backstitch option on an overlocker obvs. So I always knot to secure, close to the stitching…

Thread the tail onto a yarn needle…

Pass the needle through the looper threads for about 2 inches…

Then pull the complete tail all the way through…

….and snip the excess close to the stitching.

That’s it. Thread tails neatly buried 🙂 For an even neater finish you can pass the tail/needleÂ under the threads right on the edge of the fabric (where the upper and lower looper threads meet & wrap round eachother) &Â inbetween the two layers of fabric of the overlocked edge. So they are sandwiched and invisible. I do that when I’m feeling particularly conscientious 😉 Â This piece is a neckband. If I’d buried the tails on the reverse of this, then it would be invisible on the finished garment once the seam is pressed to the inside and topstitched down. Depends on how neat you want to be of course. If you’re anything like me that’s often mood related, lol! Whatever you do though, this has got to be better than a dangly tail!

DIY, how to, overlocker, overlockers, serger, Sewing, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials

Top Tip: Transfer thread from large cones to small spools

01/06/16

Picture the scene. It was New Years Day. (Happy 2016 everyone!) A rare opportunity over the holidays to duck into Shedquarters and sneak some sewing in. All ready to rock and roll and then……aaargh! Not enough thread spools in the right colour for my overlocker!

I can be a bit blasÃ© about gathering supplies/notions for a project. I’ve developed quite a stash and kinda just assumed I would have enough standard spools in the general vicinity of this colour to cobble together a workable overlock stitch. (‘cos I use this colour all the time! Not! Doh!). But no. I had one cone in the colour I needed. Loads of it. But all on one cone. Hmmmm….

But as always with me, necessity is the mother of invention. Some of my favourite ideas emerge when I’m facing a (probably self imposed) hurdle and am scratching my head trying to figure out a work around. Plus, since this little solution means you need only buy one cone of overlocker thread (in that obscure colour that you need but will never use up in a million years) this one saves money and what better way to start off a cash strapped January than with a money saving hack right?

If you’re like me and hold on to empty thread spools because they are “bound to come in handy for something” at some point; then this would be the moment you are vindicated in your hoardiness! You’ll need 4 empty thread spools (These guttermann ones are particulary perfect as explained in a moment). Some double sided sticky tape. A spare bobbin from your sewing machine.Â

Stick a piece of the tape on the flat end of the thread spool….

Remove the backing and firmly press your empty bobbin on top,,,

Pop the thread cone in a mug/cup in front of your standard sewing machine. Â We are essentially going to treat the empty spool as a bobbin. Which is why I said these particular thread spools are quite useful. On the opposite end of the spool to where you stuck the bobbin, there are holes that you can use in the same way as the hole you would normally use in the top of the bobbin. Pop your thread through one of those holes just as you would on a bobbin…

Then attach the whole assembly to the bobbin winder on your standard machine just as if you were going to wind a normal bobbin…

Then start winding! Hold the thread at slight tension with your hands and feed it onto the thread spool in an even manner by gently moving the thread up and down as it winds so that it distributes along the full length of the spool in an even manner.Â

And that’s that! Repeat for all the other spools, using the same bobbin. It’s removable because you only used double sided tape. But you may not want to use it in your sewing machine after due to a sticky residue. So I’ve just set mine aside and reserved it for this purpose; because I am so going to want to do this again at some point!

There are other methods out there for doing this but this one suits me because it’s simple, quick and straightforward. The main morals of this story?

Don’t throw away empty spools!
Standard spools do work on an overlocker
If you HAVE to buy a overlocker threadÂ in an obscure colour that you’ll only use once…just buy ONE and do this!

DIY, Dressmaking, fabric, finished garments, free pattern download, Freebies, grainline, hemlock tee, how to, knits, minerva, overlocker, serger, Sewing, sewing patterns, Tips and Tricks, tops, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Hemlock Tee: How to Sew a Deconstructed Jersey Neckline Finish

07/24/15

Not really a secret that I love the Hemlock Tee pattern from Grainline Studio. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen a few of these pop up recently that haven’t yet been blogged. One you will have seen in my previous post. This one is just a simple grey jersey…

This would not be particularly noteworthy apart from the fact I wanted to let you know this jerseyÂ from Minerva Crafts is frikkin gorgeous! So soft. So drapey. Not too flimsy. Need more in my life!

I also wanted to share my favourite jersey neckline finish of the moment! I’m not a massive fan of conventional ribbed neck bands . I like my tees to look a little more deconstructed and I really like the raw edge of jersey fabric. The way it curls Â when you stretch it! But obviously Â a neckline still needs some stability. So recently I’ve been opting for this neckline finish…

It’s applied in exactly the same way as the pattern describes, with one exception. Instead of the folded edge of the neck band edging your neckline…you flip the band the other way round before applying it, Â and have the raw edge exposed instead!

Here’s a quick step by step. If you’ve never applied a jersey neckband before you may also find this useful as it covers the whole process…at least this is how I do it!

Take your neckband pattern piece and press it with some spray starch (helps stop the edges curling too much as you work); sew together the ends to form a loop then fold in half.

Taking the join as your centre back marker, mark your centre front point using a pin. Do this by folding the band in half with the join smack band in the middle. Mark the CF point with a pin on the opposite side.

Mark the sides with of the neckband with a pin too..

Have your tee right side out…

Pin the CF of your neckband to the CF of your neckline. I’m going for that raw edge finish on mine remember. So I’m lining up the foldedÂ edge of my neckband with the raw edge of my neckline. If you want the clean/folded edge finish to your neckline, then line up the raw edges of your neck band with the raw edge of your neckline. Savvy?

Pin the sides of your neck band to your shoulder seams and the CB of your neck band to the Â CB of your neckline. So your neckband is now pinned at both shoulders seams, the BB, and the CF of the right side of your neckline.

Serge to join. I work in 1/4 sections at a time. ie from pin to pin. Hold the layers of fabric under just enough tension for the neckband to match the length of the neckline. It will be drafted ever so slightly smaller than the neckline circumference which enables it to naturally want to turn to the insideÂ . Â So pull on it juuuust enough as it runs through the serger, but be careful not to stretch it out.

Press! Seam allowance/serged edge downwards…

Top/Edge stitch around the neckline to secure the seam allowance. So you now have a finished neckline with a raw edge detail (or if you attached the band the other way, a finished neckline with a clean folded edge!).Â If you want it a bit narrower you can start with a narrower band in the first place OR trim it down at this stage….

Make a notch/snip to the depth you want…

And trim!

I went evenÂ narrower on this one and part of me wishes I’d Â restrained myself a little, lol! After laundering, the edges will soften, and depending on how long you’ve left them, (ahem) curl a little too.

You might ask what the point is in lining up the folded edge of the band with the raw edge of the neckline in the first place. You could just attach the band as normal, trim, and you still end up with a raw edge. I just prefer to do it this way because I find it easier to line up aÂ folded edge with one raw edge, than it is to align 3 raw edges; and I find the inside finish cleaner this way too. Either way would work and it’s one of those cases of personal preference.

I’ve done a variation withÂ a twist Â of this on the hemlock in my previous post. The one I’ve yet to blog about! Then there’s one more that I’ve made; (and two more that I’m about to make). Plus my first stab at Suzy Pants and 3 completed Maya variations that are also unblogged!

I literally have too many blog posts to squeeze in before the launch of The Refashioners 2015.

Oh yeah, and I ought to refashion a shirt too, gasp!!

DIY, how to, overlocker, overlockers, serger, Sewing, Sewing Basics, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Serger Series – Part 3: Nailing Tension

06/29/15

Loopy stitching and puckered or curled fabric edges be gone! It’s time to nail the whole tension thing once and for all! The best way to diagnose a problem when it crops up is to understand the effect that the various tension settings have on the various threads that form your overlock stitch; and the best way to do THAT is to sew a sample swatch for each one. Â Yes there are more fun things to be doing like actually making stuff! But this is a one time task which, once you’ve done it, will give you the means to diagnose problems, and put them right, quickly and easily without any of that “why the HELL is it doing that?!! kind of frustration. So that’s gotta be worth it, right?!! If nothing else it will save your loved ones from putting up with the “effiing & blinding/cussing” coming from your general direction (I KNOW that’s not just me!)

So. First things first. You’ll need to thread each needle and looper with a different colour thread. (If you can match it to the colours in your threading diagram even better! Threading guide here if you need it) Â This will aid in identifying which thread is doing what, the effect it has on other threads and generally help to differentiate.

This is what the aim of the game is. One swatch for each needle and looper with each swatch containing samples of the stitch at each tension setting. At the end of which you’ll be able to mark the optimum tension settings (and ratios) for each thread. I’ll explain further along how this is useful as you might well be thinking that working out your tension on calico is pointless when you’re sewing predominantly with knits &Â possibly a whole variety of fabrics…but bear with me. It does make sense I promise!

So for the swatches I used simple calico. Just because it’s plain, medium weight, I had some, and I could draw on it easily and permanently. If you have other fabric that fits that criteria, fab. Use it. You’ll also need a ruler, biro/pen and fabric scissors…

Cut 4 strips about 8″ wide (one for each tension dial) and long enough to accommodate a 1.5″ section for each of your tension settings plus a header. So basically, my serger has tension settings from 1-9. So I divided each strip into 10 Â x Â 1.5″ sections.

Fold/press in half along the length. Then at the top of each one write the name of the thread/section you are swatching (so…left needle, right needle, upper looper, lower looper) and the colour of the thread that you have used for that section. (I also added the number that corresponds to that section on my threading diagram. But this isn’t that necessary. Call it thoroughness overkill on my part!) Then write the numbers 1-9 down the left hand side of each strip….

So the process is the same for each swatch. Start with all dials at a medium setting of say 3 or 4. Something that you know will give you a basic overlock stitch without being ridiculously loose or tight. Just set them all the same. Then “swatch” each tension dial in turn as follows. Left Needle, Right Needle, Upper Looper, Lower Looper. (So basically left to right on your tension dials).

Starting with the left needle, set the tension dial to 1…

…then serge down the right hand side or your swatch fabric until your needles hit the line. Stop.

Move the tension dial to 2…

Serge until your needles hit the next line…

Stop.

Set your tension dial to 3…

Serge until your needles hit the next line and stop.

I suspect you’re getting the gist now! Keep moving the tension dial up one increment at a time…

…and sewing up to the next line…until you’ve swatched each tension setting on that dial. At that point, examine the stitch and mark the tension setting that gives you the best, most balanced stitch. (more detail on what constitutes a balanced stitch further down, so bear with. We’ll get to that part) Set the tension dial at that setting. Leave it there, and move on to the next tension dial and repeat the process for that one. once you’ve established the optimum setting for the second dial, set it to that, and move onto the third, then the fourth…

So, by the time you’ve done all that you’ll end up with 4 of these!Â So, now what to do?

What these Swatches Tell You…

So how do swatches made on calico relate to sewing with knits? I might have gone to all this trouble to get a perfect stitch on a double thickness of calico, but the tensions will be completely different when I start sewing jersey, right? Welllll…yes…..and no! The numbers may be different but the basic concept of what these swatches tell me will be much the same, proportionately, whatever fabric I’m using. Firstly there’s the ratio/differential between each setting. From my swatches above you’ll see that Â my “ratios” are 6-6- 4-3. (Don’t be surprised if this differs slightly from your manual’s recommended settings! Every machine is different.) So basically my needle tensions are the same as eachother, and my looper tensions are 2 and/or 3 notches lower than my needles. This rough relationship between the tension settings is my starting point with any other fabrics I now sew with. It’s a ratio that I now know, works. So when I sit down at my serger with a new piece of jersey, I might lower them all byÂ half a notch, if my common sense tells me to do so, but generally my starting point is roughly the same. Â It may beÂ +/- half a notch or a notch, but in my experience (and I sew with mostly light or medium weight knits and wovens) there isn’t a dramatic deviation from those numbers or ratios even after I’ve done a test swatch on my fabric. Now, before I even start….I know I’m roughly in the right ball park!

The otherÂ thing these swatches tell you is why your overlock stitch or fabric is behaving in a particular way and allows you to identify where you might need to fine tune from your starting point. Take a look….

Left Needle Â (Too Loose)

We’re looking at the BLUE thread here. (Ignore the rest) With the needle tension set really low, much as with a standard machine, the stitches will not sit flat on the surface of the fabric. You can see a little “daylight” between the stitches and the fabric here at the lowest setting. It’s not terrrrrrible but wait….

On the reverse it’s waaaay more obvious that the tension on the blue thread is too low. See those little blue loops that gradually get smaller as you move from the left to the right of the image? IAs the tension increases the thread will sit more flush with the fabric. So if your left needle thread is looping at the back like that…increase the tension.

Left Needle Â (Too Tight)

There’s alot more play and forgiveness in needle tension Â than there is in looper tension in my experience. Especially at the upper/tighter end of the tension scale. The effect here isn’t quite as obvious on this calico as it might be on a fine tissue knit but at the highest tension setting (we’re still looking at the BLUE thread. Last segment. Left of the screen, numbered 9) you can see the fabric is starting to pucker ever so slightly…..

Maybe more visible on the reverse….see that slight dimpling along the stitch line and the way the corner can’t lay flat? It’s all just a little bit “tense” isn’t it?! So any sign of puckering along the stitch line, lower your needle tension.

Right NeedleÂ Â (Too Loose)

This time we’re looking at the CREAM thread and the right hand needle. As I said, both my needles are always set at the same tension and the effect that having the tension too low or too high is the same….

Loopy means it’s too low. Increase the tension.

Right Needle (Too Tight)

This time, the blue thread has already been set to the right tension. We’re looking at the CREAM thread and on the highest setting it’s causing the same puckering that the blue thread did… look at the way the edge of the fabric on the far left is sliiiiightly wavy and not sitting flat….

See the way the corner is lifting, the sliiight wave to the fabric edge and that slight dimpling along the stitch line again? Same as before….reduce the thread tension.

So to summarise…needle tensioning on a serger is pretty much the same as on a standard machine. Check the underside as well as the top. If it puckers it’s too tight. If it loops it’s too loose. adjust up or down accordingly. Simple!

The Loopers

The loopers is where the “balancing the stitch” part comes in. The upper and lower looper threads form loops that loop round eachother and cover the edge of the fabric. Hence the term loopers, I’m guessing! To get a “balanced stitch” you want the part where the upper and lower loopers link together, to sit right on the edge of the fabric. We’re almost at that part; but first lets look at the way incorrect tensioning affects the upper and lower loopers interact with eachother. They have a co-dependant relationship if you like! If one’s not quite right then the other can’t do it’s thang!

Upper Looper (too loose)

We’re looking at the GREY thread in this pic. Having the upper looper Â tensionÂ too looseÂ allows the loops to floatÂ over and under the edge of the fabric…

To put it another way, the loops of the upper looper (grey), should be exactly the same length as the loops of the lower looper (yellow) and meet eachother at the edge of the fabric.Â If your upper looper thread is passing over and under the edge of your fabric like this, but not causing it to curl….it’s too loose. Increase the tension on the upper looper.

Upper Looper (too tight)

At the other end of the scale if the upper looper tension thread is too tight, it will make the grey thread loops too short/tight and pull the lower looper thread (yellow) round from the other side and curl the edge of the fabric in the process….

So if you have short loops on top pulling andÂ curling the fabric around from underneath like this? Your upper looper tension is too tight.

Lower Looper (too loose)

We are looking at the YELLOW thread of my lower looper now. It’s the same interaction as before but the effect is reversed. If the lower looper tension is too loose, it allows the lower looper thread to float round to the top of the fabric rather than sit on the edge.Â You’ll notice this makes the grey upper looper threads too short in relation.

But there is no curl which means it’s a “looseness” problem rather than a “tightness” problem. Increase the lower looper tension.

Lower Looper (too tight)

With the lower looper tension set too tight the YELLOW thread (now no longer visible) is pulling the upper looper (grey) thread around and under and curling the fabric edge again, but this time it’s curling under….

Curling is sign that one oor other of your loopers is too tight. If it curls upwards it’s your upper looper. If it curls under, as it does here, it’s your lower looper. Lower the tension of the lower looper.

The “Perfectly” balanced stitch…

So this is what we’re aiming for. The holy grail of serging. The “perfectly” balanced stitch. Truthfully there’s no such thing as perfection, lol! But this isÂ what to look for as you are deciding on the optimum setting for each swatch, and setting your tension for each new fabric.

Stitching lines (blue and cream thread) flat to fabric and not looping or causing puckers on either side. Upper Looper loops (grey thread) extend right to the edge of the fabric where they meet the Lower Looper loops (yellow thread) from the underside…

The lower looper thread from the underside view. Neat little “Y” shapes with just the teeniest bit of the blue and cream needle threads visible from the other side. The yellowÂ “Y”s (lower loops) extend right to the edge of the fabric where the meet the grey thread of the Upper Looper loops….

….and finally that spot, right along the edge of the fabric (extremely tricky to photograph one handed!), but hopefully you can see both looper threads meeting and looping around eachother to enclose that raw edge. In essence, THAT is the perfectly balanced serger stitch.

The swatches give you a starting point at which you have a rough idea of the tension ratios of your machine. From there, Â you can diagnose problems with any given fabric, by looking at how it (and the stitch) is behaving and comparing it to your swatches. He’s a few “rules of thumb” I’ve discovered since getting to know my serger this way. Â In general if part of the stitch is loopy, then the tension is too loose. Â Loopy = Loose. Get it?! The swatches will help you identify which part of the stitch you are looking at and adjust the relevant tension dial. If the fabric edge is curling then one of your loopers is too tight. If it curls upwards it’s your upper looper. If it curls downwards it’s your lower looper. If there’s puckering along the length, then needle tensions are likely too tight.

So, with serger swatches in hand, the next time you sit down at your machine, hopefully there will be less cussing, and more beautifully balanced stitches 🙂

Questions?? Feel free to leave them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer!

Serger Series: Part 1. Anatomy

Serger Series: Part 2.Â Threading

DIY, Dressmaking, how to, jersey, knits, overlocker, overlockers, serger, Sewing, Sewing Basics, sewing machines, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Serger Series – Part 2: Threading

06/02/15

And so we come to it. If you have been “dreading the threading” I promise it really isn’t as intimidating as it seems at first glance. With the exception of the lower looper, which is a teeny bit fiddly, the rest is super straightforward. I know I for one had built this up in my head to be super scary; (when I was doing my garment construction course I’d always wait until the thing was already threaded and then jump on. Managed to avoid threading an overlocker for my whole time there, lol!) and when I finally took the bull by the horns, I was all “oh!! is that it?!!” This is a long photo heavy post but don’t let that put you off. The process itself takes 5 minutes. I’ve just taken alot of pictures, ha ha! You can click on each image to open seperately and zoom in for more detail 😉

PREPARATION

You’ll need 4 cones of thread. Thread snips and tweezers. The hook nose tweezers are the most useful and if you’re a butter fingers like me then a second pair is handy too. The trickiest part about threading is accessing some of the teeny spaces where the thread has to run;Â but with tweezers…its a breeze. I’m using different colours here just for illustration purposes. It’s easier for you to follow the route of each thread that way.

Every machine will come with a threading guide. Either on board like mine, or in the manual. Have it to hand. Note the numbers at the top of the diagram. That is the order in which you thread. So, upper looper (red), lower looper (yellow), right needle (green) and finally, left needle (blue). That’s the order we’re going in. (BTW, If you have a secondhand machine that didn’t come with a manual, or you lost yours, then they are often available for free online as PDF downloads. Check out Manual Owl as a good place to start).

Start by turning all your tension dials to zero. This sets the tension discs inside at their most open position and helps ensure that the thread passes between them when you’re threading.

Pull up the telescopicÂ thread bar at the back….

FIRST STAGEÂ (applies to all 4 thread cones)

Position your thread cone on the appropriate spool holder. (We’re starting with the upper looper). Pass the thread through the corresponding loop at the top of the thread bar…

Hold the thread horizontally. The thread from the cone in your right hand and the loose end in your left and slide it up under that hook like part. Then take the loose end and run it in the channel that leads to the tension discs at the front. This part is easy to get the wrong way round which can lead to snapped threads. Â Don’t want those! Â This little wire thread guide has two upper loops at the top of it and the larger hook/loop that extends down. The thread runs from the thread bar above, under the right loop and the downwards hook/loop first and then runs over the top left loop and into the tension disc channel. Click the image to enlarge and zoom in.

UPPER LOOPER (red channel)

The thread then runs along that channel and round to the front where you run it between the two metal tension discs of the tension dial and down into the next part of the channel…

…then snugs into another thread guide underneath…

From there join the Â red dots! Each thread position is indicated with a read dot and the thread is held there by a little hook that you pass the thread behind. Once you thread the final part of the upper looper (tweezers are useful there! Also, rotate the hand wheel at the side until the upper looper rotates into the most accessible position) the thread passes under the presser foot and off to the side.

Upper looper done! See the red thread marked “1” on my threading diagram? That’s what we’ve just done. We’re now moving on to the lower looper. Marked “2” with the threading route indicated by the yellow thread. Note to the left of the main threading diagram there are two separate diagrams of the lower looper in close up. As I said, the lower looper is slightly trickier. Â To the extent that it warrants it’s own diagram, lol! But fear not. It’s fiddly rather than complex.

UPPER LOOPERÂ (yellow channel)

The steps up until this point are identical to the red upper looper. To recap: from the thread cones, through the thread bar and rear thread guides, between the tension discs and down into the thread guide underneath…

Follow the yellow dots (in the same way as you did the redÂ for the upper looper), until you get to this point. AKA the slightly trickier part; Rotate the handwheel again so that the lower looper is at its most accessible position, and grab the thread with those hook nose tweezers! In this pic I have hold of the thread with my tweezers and the lower looper, the bit we want to thread, is just behind my tweezers, and just in front of the upper looper. It’s the bit that looks a little like a tiny penknife blade running horizontally behind my tweezrs and it has a little threading hole in the end of it. We need to pass the thread behind it, then over the top of it…

…and then pull the thread towards us until it slides and then slots into a little dip/crevace right on the “elbow” of the lower looper…

Here it is zoomed in a bit. A little blurred (sorry, it was soooo tricky to photograph one handed!) but you can just make out the little nick in the elbow of the upper looper where the thread has to sit….it passes up behind the elbow, over the top and sits in that little cut out/nick….

From there thread the pointy end, and making sure you don’t tangle it with the thread from the upper looper (which sits directly behind it) pass the tail end under the presser foot and off to the side (2 sets of tweezers come in handy here!). Exactly as you did for the upper looper…

Another close up for you. That’s the trickiest part done!!

NEEDLE THREADING (blue and green channels)

This part is pretty much the same as a standard sewing machine except you need to do it twice! Start with the right hand needle (green channel). Threading process is exactly the same as the loopers up until the point it passes through the tension discs. Then it goes under a small thread guide, under a slightly larger thread guide and OVER the thread guide marked with the green dot…

Then down to the needles. Right needle is marked A. Into the little pig tail curl …

use tweezers to thread because the cutting blade gets in the way . Especially if you’re right handed…

Then, as with the previous two thread tails; pass under the presser foot and off to the side…

Lastly the left needle (blue channel). Same as the right needle except it only passes under the larger thread guide then OVER the thread guided indicated by the blue dot…

thread and pass the thread tail under the presser foot and off to the side as before. Â ****YOU’RE ALL DONE AND THREADED!!*** One last thing to do though. Chain off…

Re-engage your tension discs by setting dials to 3…

Plug in and switch on….

Lower the presser foot and grab hold of your thread tails…

Pull thread tails round to the back, engage the presser foot and serge of a little chain…

Trim any excess and leave a 3″ tail. Â All done!! Hope this was useful and that it helps at least someone out there realise that threading a serger is really not as terrible as it first appears. I know this is a photo heavy post which might make this artificially seem like a lengthy process . In reality it takes me 5 minutes, if that! Please please trust me. Try it. And you’ll see 🙂

You can view the first post in this series here.

Next up is tensioning and getting a nicely balanced stitch. I’ve discovered the COOLEST trick for that. Watch this space!

DIY, how to, overlocker, serger, Sewing, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Serger Series – Part 1: Anatomy

05/21/15

On November 4th 2013 I got my longed for overlocker. *Confession*. Up until a few weeks back I had only ever used the 4 thread overlock that it had come factory threaded with. I had literally been too scared to unthread the thing for fear of being unable to re thread it. Resolutely sticking to this method of changing the thread cones. Sound familiar? Well a few weeks ago, after my machine had a bit of a hissy fit at me; I decided enough was enough. I decided that, like in any successful relationship, if she and I were going to fulfil our relationship potential; then I had to invest some time in getting to know her better.

So over the past few weeks I’ve taken my overlocker to bits (yep, with a screwdriver and everything) cleaned it, reassembled it, and played with it. I’ve watched you tube videos, played with sample swatches Â and **shock horror** read my manual!! (C’mon…I’m not the only one to never read a manual, right??) What I’ve discovered is that overlockers are nowhere near as scary as I thought. Yes, they still sound and run like sewing machines on steroids BUT threading one is now like “oh, was that it?!” and diagnosing (and correcting) the cause of loopy weird stitching is now a piece of cake.

So I Â thought I’d share my discoveries in a new series aimed at beginner, scaredy cats like me. Cos I know you’re out there. Just wanting to get serging/buy a serger Â and wondering if you’ll be able to get to grips with it. Well….you will!

The best place to start is a tour of a serger and it’s various components. What they are and what they do. First I better introduce you to my machine. A Singer 14SH754. Â A 2, 3 and 4 thread overlock machine with differential feed. (We’ll get to what differential feed is in a bit!) Here’s how she looks from the front….

and from this angle you can see the key elements at the side and the back of the machine. Ready for the tour? Here goes….

Starting at the back you have the thread spools. No different to a sewing machine except there are 4. Those clear plastic things that sit at the bottom of the spools are removable and are there to accommodate the large thread cones that you typically use on a serger. Remove those and you can use a normal size thread spools. So if you have a more obscure colour and don’t want to buy 4 massive cones of it, you can use normal ones too! In the middle is a telescopic metal thread bar. The whole thing extends up and the threads slip inbetween the crossover part at the top of each loop and sit in the bottom of the loop. There to separate and guide the individual threads and keep them at tension.

Visible just behind the carry handle in the previous pic. More thread guides. This time they look like the hook part of a hook and eye fastening. There to help keep the the threads separated, at tension, and guide them through that channel there, that leads to the tension dials/discs around the front….

Lastly (at the back, for now) the presser foot lever. Just the same as on a standard machine. Raises and lowers the presser foot. Simple as. That white “bar” you can see to the left is part of the knife mechanism.Â We’ll get to that in a mo!

Moving around to the side. There’s your presser foot. Nothing strange there. Note the angle of the needles and the presser foot bar though. On a standard machine the presser foot bar and needles point straight down. Slightly angled on a serger. Also note the white bar that we saw in the previous pic has the blade attached to it….

Presser foot lifts up and down as on a standard machine. Underneath are the feed dogs and throat plate. As on a standard machine. Presser feet are changeable (for different actions/stitches) on overlockers just as they are on standard machines. So…just the blade that’s any different here really!

There are your needles from the front. Released and changed using those tiny screws. Left needle (B) sits higher than the right needle (A). The little “pig tail” curls keep the needle threads separate, at tension and guide them into the right place for threading. In the right foreground of the pic you can see that blade again…

The blade points downwards and snugs into the presser foot. You can disengage it by pushing it in towards the white cylinder and using the black knob on the right to rotate it out of the way…

Here is the blade from a different angle. In reality there are 2 blades. The one that is attached to the presser foot bar and moves up and down. And a fixed blade that sits just under the throat plate/feed dogs…as you sew, the fabric slides over the throat plate and between the upper and lower blades…

As the needles move down, so does the upper blade. Slicing the fabric between the upper and lower blades in the process. Ouch! (At the same time that this is happening, the needles behind it will be picking up the threads from the lower looper to help form the stitch on the underside of the fabric)

Just infront of the blade you can see a white switch with “R” stamped to the left of it and “S” stamped to the right; and below that a black dial. This relates to adjusting the stitch width. For normal overlocking that white button is pushed forward to the “S” position. We’ll revisit “non normal” stitching in a later post 😉

So we’re back round to the front….

Open the door at the front and this is what you see. The part that seems scary. The inner workings of the upper and lower loopers. But bear with. It’s honestly not that scary 🙂

Let’s start up top with the tension dials. Ignore the numbers here. I’ve been playing and we’ll get to those in another post. For now let’s talk function. Just the same as a standard machine except, again, there are 4 instead of 1. They set how “tight” your stitch sits in the fabric. Inside each tension dial are 2 metal discs that look a bit like finger cymbals. Same as a standard machine, the higher the number you set the dial, the closer the discs squeeze together and the tighter they hold the thread that runs between them. That tension is transferred to the stitch as it goes through your fabric. Getting the correct tension for your fabric is pretty important and I have a whole separate post lined up for that 🙂 For now…just note that they are colour coded….

Underneath each tension dial are yet more thread guides. Alot of thread guides on a serger. But then there’s alot of thread to guide! Thread guides on this machine that are directly under their alotted tension dials are left plain. The rest are colour coded with coloured dots, that relate to the relevant tension dial, Â so you know which thread should be passing through…

And here is the cause of my irrational past fear. The upper and lower loopers! Upper looper (red) forms the overlock stitch ontop of your fabric. Lower looper (yellow) forms the overlock stitch on the underside of your fabric. Undeniably the lower looper is Â sliiiiightly tricky to thread. The rest is a cinch, honestly!

Here’s a slightly different angle….The reason the lower looper (yellow dots and diagram) isÂ slightly more tricky is because the lever thingy part of it (that part of the diagram on the right of the photo) is tucked right under the feed dogs/throat plate and even when fully extended, requires a little bit of slight of hand to loop the the thread around it. But that’s why it has it’s own diagram I guess. Never the less, after a couple of goes (tweezers are a MUST) you get the knack and it’s fine…

This machine, and most machines will have a threading guide on board. But I have a whole post lined up on threading too. So we will return to that. I think that’s enough on threading for now! Nearly there. How you feeling? Geeked out yet? Just a couple of bits left to see!

Back round to the side of the machine. A couple of dials and a lever…

Top dial is your stitch length. For the majority of standard stitches set between 2.5 and 3…

The big wheel is your hand wheel for your needles. Just like a standard machine. On/off switch and power source behind that. Nothing different there. In front however is the differential feed lever. This controls the rate at which the feed dogs pull the fabric through the machine and depending on the setting can either stretch the fabric out, or gather it. For normal stitching its set at 1 (in the middle). Again…separate post line up for that too 😉

Worth noting the air vents for keeping the motor from overheating. Do not obstruct whilst in use.

Then finally back to the back and a little tip. I keep a photograph of the make and model numbers of my machines on my phone. Then if I’m out and about and accidentally stumble into a haberdashery (as you do…accidentally) and want to check if a bobbin/blade/presser foot is compatible with my machine…then I can tell the store owner what my machine is…because I can never remember model numbers!

Anyway….there ends part one. Alot of images I know but hopefully useful in acquainting you with the anatomy of a serger and preparing the ground for the next few posts which will hopefully have you fearlessly serging away in no time.

Watch this space. Next up…the dreaded threading!!