Flatbed Serging

We had some wind yesterday, but not the high winds that went through Washington state on Friday. The area north of Seattle took a direct hit, with lots of downed trees and power lines. Our forecast looks mostly dry and cold for this coming week. Snoqualmie Pass was closed again for a couple of hours yesterday. I guess it’s going to take a while to convince all the idiot drivers they can’t get over the pass with all-season tires, driving 70 mph, when it’s snowing.

[I was driving through there once watching a woman ahead of me who would not move out of the left-hand lane despite signs all along the highway saying, “Drive on the right, pass on the left—Washington State law.” And she had Washington plates, too. That question must not have been on her driving test. She didn’t seem to notice all the people passing her on the right because they were annoyed with her. That is how accidents happen.]

The husband assembled my serger cabinet for me in the morning while I did some laundry and cleaning. I am very pleased with it:

Depending on the step in the construction process, a garment can get heavy and pull off the left side of the serger, away from the knife and out of the path of the needles. My Bernina serger came with a good-sized extension table, but even that extension table didn’t provide as much support as I needed. Now I’ve got that whole area to the left of the machine to support whatever I’m working on.

The machine sits a few inches down inside the cabinet. There is a clear acrylic insert that slips in on the left-hand side to make the bed of the machine flush with the top of the cabinet. The one drawback is that I have to remove the insert and raise the machine in order to change threads, because the front of the machine flips down to provide access to the threading paths. The machine sits on a hydraulic lift, though, which makes raising and lowering it relatively easy. When I need to drop the machine back to the flatbed position, the lift automatically stops at the correct spot.

Bernina makes an open-front cabinet for their sergers. I chose this one because it was free with reward points, and the Bernina cabinets run into the thousands of dollars. The Bernina serger cabinet is also much larger. This cabinet fits nicely in the space and closes up to about the size of a large nightstand.

[The husband did offer to cut out that front section of the cabinet for me, but I didn’t think that was a good solution.]

I ran up another Easton cowl top yesterday afternoon to try out this setup. I like it very much. I’ve also got the presser foot knee lift installed. It wouldn’t fit on the machine when I had it sitting on the previous cabinet. Once you get used to using a knee lift, it’s hard to be without it.

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The husband spent the rest of yesterday winterizing the property and putting away equipment. The plow is back on the red truck—it sits in the yard during the summer months—and the snowblower is gassed up and ready to go. I think we are ready for whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at us next.

I have an appointment with my naturopath this week, and our church’s Windows to the World Gift Festival sale starts Thursday. If you’re local, come out to the Mennonite church and get a jump on your holiday shopping. Enjoy a lunch of hot soup and homemade pie while you’re there.