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Posted by jclark on August 16, 2006, 3:38 pm
Hi,
I bought a Husqvarna viking Lily 555 last year and have been making
clothes just for myself over the course of the year. It's really going
far better than I expected and the clothes are turing out well.
However, I am noticing that the hems on the inside are terribly frayed
and messy unless I go over all of them with my machine's ovelocking
stitch, and that is time-consuming, and also takes up a lot of thread,
so is pricey. I have been looking around at overlockers and wondering
if it would be worthwhile to buy one since they seem to overloack much
faster, and as overlocker thread seems to be so much cheaper. Do you
think that this is a good idea or should I just keep plugging away with
my sewing machine's overlock stich?
The garments I am making are straightforward shirts and trousers, and
some jersey fabric tops. I have also made nice A-line skirts and a few
summer dresses.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jennifer
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Posted by Pat in Arkansas on August 16, 2006, 4:17 pm
jclark wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Husqvarna viking Lily 555 last year and have been making
> clothes just for myself over the course of the year. It's really going
> far better than I expected and the clothes are turing out well.
> However, I am noticing that the hems on the inside are terribly frayed
> and messy unless I go over all of them with my machine's ovelocking
> stitch, and that is time-consuming, and also takes up a lot of thread,
> so is pricey. ------Snip
Sergers are great, and if you get one you will probably love
it.........But..........
You can buy one hell of a lot of thread for what a decent one will cost
you.
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Posted by Kate Dicey on August 16, 2006, 5:28 pm
jclark wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Husqvarna viking Lily 555 last year and have been making
> clothes just for myself over the course of the year. It's really going
> far better than I expected and the clothes are turing out well.
> However, I am noticing that the hems on the inside are terribly frayed
> and messy unless I go over all of them with my machine's ovelocking
> stitch, and that is time-consuming, and also takes up a lot of thread,
> so is pricey. I have been looking around at overlockers and wondering
> if it would be worthwhile to buy one since they seem to overloack much
> faster, and as overlocker thread seems to be so much cheaper. Do you
> think that this is a good idea or should I just keep plugging away with
> my sewing machine's overlock stich?
I have a 550 (same machine, previous colour way!), and it is a wonderful
machine, but I have never used the 'overlocking' stitch on it for
precisely the reasons you state. I use an overlocker/serger for 90% of
my seam neatening. (The other 10% is stuff like couture hand finishing
or a Hong Kong finish.) It is the best fast way to get a neat durable
finish.
>
> The garments I am making are straightforward shirts and trousers, and
> some jersey fabric tops. I have also made nice A-line skirts and a few
> summer dresses.
You can do a LOT if the seams on those garments with the
serger/overlocker! Even faster than the Lily - about twice the speed!
AND the 4 thread overlocked seam is stronger and strechtier on Lycra and
knits, and is therefore more durable. I use it all the time from fleece
to silk chiffon, and on garments from this type of thing:
http://www.profabrics.co.uk/shop/show_product_info.php?id=XPP25
To this:
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Sewing_Projects/Anya/janeanne.jpg
I used to have a Huskylock 910, but I wore it out! I now have a Bernina
1150MDA and a Brother 1034D, which is a much lighter and cheaper
machine, but has a free arm, a feature I loved on the Huskylock.
>
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Best thing is to go try one! Think of the type of sewing you do, and
the volume. I sew professionally and through heavy use and abuse,
killed my lovely 910. I knew the features I wanted on the next one, and
the invaluable lesson of always having a spare! So I bought the Bernina
for toughness and quiet, and the Brother for free arm and as a back-up.
If you are just sewing for yourself and family, you may only need the
one, so try a lot of different ones, find what you like the feel of, and
put it on the Christmas list!
In the past I have also owned a pre-loved three thread Toyota, and a
newer 4 thread Toyota, and used several others. The makes I personally
like are Huskylock, Bernina (my current fave rave!), Toyota, and
Brother. I hate Janome - principally because one choked on fashion
fleece and danced off the table into my lap! Ugh! Painful! - and
Bernette (just way to light weight and plasticky for me - I like SOLID
machines!). I haven't used an Elna or Babylock (except for a cheap &
nasty that also tried tap-dancing off the table) for anything other than
a trial, so I can't say much about them, but the Babylock Evolve and
Wave look fascinating! I also quite like the Frister & Rossman for a
lighter domestic akin to the Brother (but with that fab front opening
that makes cleaning and threading a dream!).
Do hit the URL below and see some of the projects I do, and the machines
I use to make them. Good mix of the old and the new! No pix of the
Bernina or the Brother in action yet (they are both less than a month
old - the Bernina only came home a week ago!), but on today's fleece top
and cotton frock, the Bernina was powering through like a good 'un. My
friend's Toyota misbehaved until I put new jersey needles in it for the
fleece, at which it purred like a kitten rather than snargling it's
threads up like a hamster nest!
Bulk buys of thread are great. Where are you? I buy a LOT of
overlocking thread from Empress Mills, who do a great on-line and mail
order service (details on my Fabric List on the web site). Very often
you can use overlocking threads in the Lily as well! :)
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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Posted by M. K. on August 17, 2006, 12:21 pm
I have had two sergers and love my babylock as you age and the eyes are not
as sharp the threading can be a problem so my advise is to you if you decide
to buy is to give the threading a try and buy what you are comfortable with.
I am right handed and threading became a real challenge for me with my husky
lock. My daughter who is adept with either hand was a real asset when she
was here but that wasn't often. The babylock that I have is a heavy duty
one which has assisted threading for the loopers and the needles. I love it.
If you would need the model I email me off line and I will get it to you.
Mary
> Hi,
>
> I bought a Husqvarna viking Lily 555 last year and have been making
> clothes just for myself over the course of the year. It's really going
> far better than I expected and the clothes are turing out well.
> However, I am noticing that the hems on the inside are terribly frayed
> and messy unless I go over all of them with my machine's ovelocking
> stitch, and that is time-consuming, and also takes up a lot of thread,
> so is pricey. I have been looking around at overlockers and wondering
> if it would be worthwhile to buy one since they seem to overloack much
> faster, and as overlocker thread seems to be so much cheaper. Do you
> think that this is a good idea or should I just keep plugging away with
> my sewing machine's overlock stich?
>
> The garments I am making are straightforward shirts and trousers, and
> some jersey fabric tops. I have also made nice A-line skirts and a few
> summer dresses.
>
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jennifer
>
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Posted by jclark on August 17, 2006, 1:13 pm
Hi,
Thanks to both of your for your excellent advice. I'll go away and have
a think about that and maybe try some machines out.
The website is great by the way. I shall be having a good read at that.
It seems full of good hints.
Jennifer
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