Did you know it's National Serger Month?? I didn't.
But Baby Lock has decided it is. They brought sergers to the home sewer. Go to their National Serger Month website for all sorts of information and if you click on the word Sweepstakes you can enter to win a free serger.
For those of you who might not know what a serger is. It is a special sewing machine that simultaneously trims the edge off a piece of fabric and then stitches an overcast stitch like this. Look inside any t-shirt, blouse or pair of jeans, the seams will be finished this way.
But Baby Lock has decided it is. They brought sergers to the home sewer. Go to their National Serger Month website for all sorts of information and if you click on the word Sweepstakes you can enter to win a free serger.
For those of you who might not know what a serger is. It is a special sewing machine that simultaneously trims the edge off a piece of fabric and then stitches an overcast stitch like this. Look inside any t-shirt, blouse or pair of jeans, the seams will be finished this way.
Actually I think very few people know it's serger month, because when I searched "national serger month" Google asked me if I meant "national burger month" which, as it turns out, is in May.
The first one I encountered was in the professional costume shops in New York. We called them Merrow machines, because they were made by a company called Merrow. Kind of like tissues are called Kleenex and copy machines are all called Xerox. They were the ones who invented this kind of machine in 1881.
Many people refer to it as an overlock machine. Read this from Wikipedia.
J. Makens Merrow and his son Joseph Merrow, who owned a knitting mill established in Connecticut in 1838, developed a number of technological advancements to be used in the mill’s operations. Merrow's first patent was a machine for crochetstitching, and the Merrow Machine Company still produces crochet machines based on this original model. This technology was a starting point for the development of the overlock machine, patented by Joseph Merrow in 1889. Unlike standard lockstitching, which uses a bobbin, overlock sewing machines utilize loopers to create thread loops for the needle to pass through, in a manner similar to crocheting. Merrow's original three-thread overedge sewing machine is the forerunner of contemporary overlocking machines. Over time, the Merrow Machine Company pioneered the design of new machines to create a variety of overlock stitches, such as two- and four-thread machines, the one-thread butted seam, and the cutterless emblem edger.
Many people refer to it as an overlock machine. Read this from Wikipedia.
J. Makens Merrow and his son Joseph Merrow, who owned a knitting mill established in Connecticut in 1838, developed a number of technological advancements to be used in the mill’s operations. Merrow's first patent was a machine for crochetstitching, and the Merrow Machine Company still produces crochet machines based on this original model. This technology was a starting point for the development of the overlock machine, patented by Joseph Merrow in 1889. Unlike standard lockstitching, which uses a bobbin, overlock sewing machines utilize loopers to create thread loops for the needle to pass through, in a manner similar to crocheting. Merrow's original three-thread overedge sewing machine is the forerunner of contemporary overlocking machines. Over time, the Merrow Machine Company pioneered the design of new machines to create a variety of overlock stitches, such as two- and four-thread machines, the one-thread butted seam, and the cutterless emblem edger.
My first serger was a Baby Lock. I bought it in the late 70's. I feel they are like magic machines. Everything looks instantly professional and neat after being run through one. Although, I know people who are serious couture seamstresses don't like them much.
This is all the time I have this morning, but my curiosity is peaked ... I'm going to find out more about this tomorrow.
And now a few updates ...
Yesterday my new Bernina TOTALLY behaved himself. Yes, I think it is a boy. It hasn't been even two weeks since I picked it up, so I have more time. I'm still sitting on the fence. When it works ... it's a nice machine!
And as for my Left/Right survey, I only have 75 answers so far, but I had hypothesized of the pool of people who sew, lefties would be about 20% which is twice the percentage in the population as a whole and this is about what it is at this point. But then I'm wondering if this is a self selecting group ... left handed people being more interested in this topic. I'm still getting more people daily, so I'll report back again. In the meantime, see if you can get more people to participate. Here is the link again to the survey.
This is all the time I have this morning, but my curiosity is peaked ... I'm going to find out more about this tomorrow.
And now a few updates ...
Yesterday my new Bernina TOTALLY behaved himself. Yes, I think it is a boy. It hasn't been even two weeks since I picked it up, so I have more time. I'm still sitting on the fence. When it works ... it's a nice machine!
And as for my Left/Right survey, I only have 75 answers so far, but I had hypothesized of the pool of people who sew, lefties would be about 20% which is twice the percentage in the population as a whole and this is about what it is at this point. But then I'm wondering if this is a self selecting group ... left handed people being more interested in this topic. I'm still getting more people daily, so I'll report back again. In the meantime, see if you can get more people to participate. Here is the link again to the survey.
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