Serger Summer

This is the state of my sewing area (one of them) at the moment:

I don’t usually make this big a mess. I tend to “clean as I sew”—much as I “clean as I go” when I’m cooking. I was in the throes of experimenting with decorative serger threads yesterday afternoon and this is what happened. (If you look closely, you can see the wine glass on the cutting table, LOL):

Every so often, Joann Fabrics has a BOGO sale on thread, and it was “buy three, get three free” this weekend. I usually load up on Maxi-Lock serger thread during these sales. This time, though, I bought some metallic and decorative embroidery threads. The quilt store where I have been teaching carries Wonderfil threads and recently got in the entire line of Wonderfil wooly nylon, so I got some of that when I was there on Thursday. I’ve been using Gutermann wooly nylon. (They call it “bulky nylon.”) I just can’t find the love for Gutermann threads. My Necchi doesn’t like them and much prefers Italian-made Aurifil. The Wonderfil wooly nylon is quite nice and the colors are deep and saturated. I believe that Wonderfil makes all of Sue Spargo’s embroidery threads, and she sets the bar pretty high.

[Threads are a whole subject unto themselves, and I appreciate having my store of spinning knowledge to guide me through choosing them. There are significant differences between brands. I got some Mettler thread with my Q20, and I’ve been using that for some piecing in order to use it up. The 50wt Mettler is considerably thicker than the 50wt Aurifil, however. Both are 100% cotton. I feel like the Mettler takes up too much space in the seams and makes pressing the units flat more difficult.]

I discovered that I really like the machine embroidery thread—it’s a polyester—for rolled hem edges on napkins. I used wooly nylon on the batch I made for DD#1 and it was fine for that fabric, but the machine embroidery thread takes it up a notch for more elegant napkins. I’ve got some rayon embroidery thread and I will try that, too.

I am not as big a fan of the metallic threads. I need to play around with them a bit more. I think they might be better in combination with an embroidery thread. They feel soft enough coming off the spool, but tend to be harsh and stiff in the fabric.

The most fun I had yesterday, though, was making lettuce edges:

Oh, the possibilities! I keep a big basket of scraps from past serger projects and use them for experimenting. I tried both the machine embroidery thread and the Wonderfil wooly nylon on this piece. The wooly nylon (on the right) makes a slightly more dramatic edge.

Not all of my experiments were successful. I tried edging one lightweight knit fabric and had all sorts of problems with both a rolled edge and a 3-thread narrow stitch. That fabric might require some wash-away stabilizer.

I’ve got a much better idea now of what will make good class projects, and I’ll have some class samples for display in the store later this week. Also, everyone on my gift list is getting napkins and scarves this year. You’ve been warned, LOL.