Friday, July 06, 2007

serger machine suggestions, anyone ?





summer is finally here, and with the temperatures rising so fast I'm planning to sew a few summer tops and dresses for myself. Getting a serger machine (máquina corte e cose, em português) is something I've meaning to do for sometime now, and especially if I start making more clothing it will be a good investment. I know nothing about serger machines, though, so maybe some of you could give me advice ?






I've had some brilliant advice from Tany already (whose blog I found by doing some google searching on this subject, and ended up reading her invaluable posts here and here) and after making a couple of calls to local stores I'm now undecided between this Singer model , the Bernina 800DL and this Pfaff. I've read that Babylock seems to be one of the best brands but unfortunately I don't think I can get them in Portugal (and I'm not sure I like the price that much either).
So, if any of you has any experience about serger machines, and these models in particular, could you please let me know ? I'm planning on going to test both these machines tomorrow (the Bernina will be a bit more difficult), and I'll let you know what I decide later on.





The photos above are of recently (and not so recently, actually) finished items that I hadn't posted before. From top to bottom:

:: bags and pouch, available now at Anthrop
:: crochet needle case, a custom order
:: several bookcovers, custom orders
:: bookcover and pouch matching set, another custom order

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10 Comments:

At 6/7/07 19:54, Blogger Mama Urchin said...

I have a babylock and love it. It was a gift though so I don't even know the price. I've heard good things about Pfaff sewing machines. I think the key is to try them out and pay special attention to how you thread it. This is a particularly important, and sometimes tricky, part.

 
At 6/7/07 20:06, Blogger Mike said...

This post has been removed by the author.

 
At 6/7/07 20:06, Blogger Mike said...

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At 6/7/07 23:01, Blogger dickespaulinchen said...

Hello!
I have a Pfaff Coverlock 4852 and it is doing very well. As Mama urching said, sewing on sergers is a bit tricky, so it is good to have a good seller, which you can ask and who gives you good advices.
Pfaff has a model called "coverstyle", it is similar to the 4852 and it has a nice price in the moment here in germany. Maybe they have it in Portugal, too?
When you have a serger, you will love it! It is a very useful machine!!!
Thanks for the wonderful fotos of your bags, best whishes, Katharina

 
At 6/7/07 23:45, Anonymous Amanda said...

I have one similar to the Pfaff you're considering. I like it and it's a nice machine, but me and sergers don't get along too well. There's a bit of a learning curve with getting tensions on all those threads to be right, and I've needed a class to help me figure out what's what. But then I didn't follow through with lots of use, so I'm afraid I need a class again. Nothing bad to say about the Pfaff though.

 
At 7/7/07 00:50, Blogger Tany said...

Olá Tânia, obrigada por me mencionares! Tenho uma última sugestão, um site americano onde, entre outras coisas, se fazem "reviews" de máquinas de costura e corta-e-coses; o site é http://sewing.patternreview.com/ e deves encontrar lá várias reviews dessas máquinas, contendo os seus pontos fortes e fracos;

Now in English: Hi Tania, thank you for mentioning me! I have a last suggestion before you purchase any of these segers/overlockers; there's this U.S. site http://sewing.patternreview.com/ where you'll find reviews for both SMs and sergers (along with pattern reviews, etc.). You might like to pay them a visit before you decide on which serger to buy!

 
At 7/7/07 08:22, Blogger mikodesign said...

Hello tania,
I have a Toyota and I love it,it never let me down and I have it for years.
good luck in choosing the right one for you.

 
At 8/7/07 09:55, Blogger Cindy said...

I don't have any surger suggestions although I know Amy Karol talks about them in her book, "Bend the rules sewing". I just wanted to say I have read your blog for a while now and love your softies and bags. If you make more clothing i'm sure they will be just as awesome! Good luck surger hunting!

 
At 9/7/07 00:08, Anonymous erin said...

i have the babylock, too. i do love it - i was able to thread it on the first try. whatever you get, make sure that you try threading it - that is the most important thing.

 
At 9/7/07 09:16, Blogger dizzyjadey said...

I've test driven the Singer (very good!) and already have it on order. Hopefully, it works out, since I want to make clothes as well. Best of luck!

 

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