“Picking” and “grinning” are two words you won’t hear quilters say in the same sentence. We’ll leave that to country musicians. Picking out stitches can be aggravating in the best of times, but have you ever tried to pick out serger stitches? Ugh! You start to think international peace treaties were written and signed in less time than picking out three sides of a serged quilt that accidentally had a fold or the fabric doubled over.

I found this little blade to be very helpful, and at times I’ve resorted to my X-Acto knife. (No judgement!) There are a lot of stitches in a small area, and the stitches hit the fabric both horizontally and vertically. Will this deter me from using my serger to quilt? Nope. Due to the nature of how sergers work, quilters achieve a nice, clean finish with a sturdy set of stitches in a shorter amount of time than using a domestic machine. Sergers work particularly well on projects like the quilt above: a panel on the front and flannel on the back.

Secretly, I also enjoy the power of the serger. I feel like one of those people with high-powered sewing machines zooming away when I use my serger. Zip – that side is done. Zip – the next side is done. It’s beautiful! (Except when you mess up) My sewing machine is good, but if I tried to run stitches that quickly, in short order something would go wrong.

Sergers may be obtained quite inexpensively, with the base models (like mine) under $300. The sky is the limit depending on what functions and brands you desire. I bought my Janome base model from Hancock Fabrics years ago, and don’t regret that purchase at all. It has come in handy with all sorts of projects, including clothing repair, home goods, and sewing everything from wearables to pillows. Let me know if you want to see how sergers work and I’ll post a short video. No promises on anything being clean in my sewing room.

Hope you are all staying well, safe, and enjoying new projects.

Beth