How to Thread a Serger

In last night's post, I mentioned that I just purchased a serger.  Among the many reviews that I read, I learned that people have trouble threading the machine.  It's very intimidating with 4 threads going through the machine - upper looper, lower looper, up, down and around, what the?! 
The machine sat on the table for a few days before I decided to watch the DVD that came with it (or CD, whatever, I watched it on my desktop).  The first  thing I learned about threading the machine was to snip the old thread, tie a knot with the new thread, step on the foot pedal and let it run through the machine.  EASY!!!

And, this morning, I had an email notification of a new blog post (yes, I get many notifications throughout the day as you guys post your blogs because I LOVE reading what you post :)) from Fashion Incubator.  The article discusses how to easily thread a machine. 

If you haven't heard about this blog before, you're in for a treat.  The amount of time, effort and information put into this blog is just incredible.  I'm saving my dollars to buy her book too although it's more for the entrepreneur and I'm not at that level,  yet.

Here's the link:

http://fashion-incubator.com/archive/how-to-change-thread-on-a-sewing-machine/

UPDATE:
 There's another video that talks about sergers on Mimi G's blog.  She just posted it today at mimigoodwin.blogspot.com

And yet another update as of 9/15/12 - I received an email on this post today:
http://fiveeighth.blogspot.com/2012/09/get-more-out-of-your-serger.html

They're actually using the serger I purchased - a Brother 1034D.  


I hope this helps anyone who is considering purchasing a serger. 

Have a good day everyone!

A new Serger and a Cardigan

Hello!  Nice to see you again ;)

First, I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones or suffered from the events that occurred eleven years ago today.  It's hard for me to see any of those images and I've been avoiding the news and media all day today.  So before I start getting emotional, I'm going to move on and show you what I've been working with.
  
I have a new toy!  Last week I got a serger.  I spent some time reading over the manual and viewing the instructional CD that came with it.  So exciting! Ha I know I'm a dork.  It's a Brother 1034D. Ok, I'm not going to waste anytime showing you - here it is:

*I'm so sorry for all the bad pics ~ I really need a new camera.

So, I've never touched one of these machines before and it looked pretty intimidating to me.  I was worried about threading the thing and I was kinda scared to use it.  This one has 4 thread max (you only see the two on the right in the picture because the machine came with 4 small spools of thread and I decided to leave two in).  Threading it was so easy (let me know if you're curious about that and I'll explain).

For my first project using my serger, I decided on a new knit cardigan from Simplicity 2262 (view A).  See that yellow fabric in the serger?  That's my new cardigan :)
Do you want to know more about the serger?  It's surprisingly easy to use and I looooooove it!  It's like, fun! lol  Seriously, though - this machine is great.  I can't wait to do more on this.

Here's the cardigan:

In this photo, you can see the long threads from the serger- it's called a chain

This pattern is really easy - this photo shows the front and back of the cardigan.  I hadn't added the band yet.  I also left out the pockets (I may add them later) and I left out the tabs on the sleeves.  I didn't have buttons, oh well.

Here, I added the band and sewed the hem. 

Look at that seam!  It's almost perfect.  I realized afterwards that I had to push the fabric further into the machine so the threads wouldn't stick out like that.

The shoulder seam

The tab I didn't put in.  I do want to make the buttonhole and add a button.  I should learn how to do that.

 WARNING: the following photos were taken at night - TERRIBLE lighting...

I couldn't use the flash because of the mirror. 

A side view of the cardi - I think I'll add the tab on the sleeve

This fabric is soooo comfy.  It felt like I put on a bathrobe.

It's long enough to cover the booty which is great!  I should've pulled it down before taking the photo but I wanted to show how it wears. 

I love my new cardigan!  It fits into my work and weekend wardrobe :)

 What do you think?  Do you like cardigans?  I can't live without them.  My office building is like an ice box - FREEZING! Ugh and I hate the cold.  I do plan on making more cardigans - maybe I'll get creative and add some different design elements as I go along. 

 Now I'm going to continue planning more garments to add to my wardrobe :)

Happy Sewing!!