Overlocker / Serger machine review part 2.

Part 1 of this review can be found here.

Anyone reading this blog over the last few days will know that I am head over heels with my first overlocker.

My Babylock Imagine Wave...

I have never played with an overlocker before (I've just seen them in action) and they look scary enough to be off-putting!  To honest when I took her out of the box I was REALLY trying NOT to think "OMG what have I done? This looks nothing like my sewing machine!"  So it was with more than a little trepidation that I sat down with Baby one afternoon for a few quiet hours so we could get better acquainted. 

I needn't have gotten myself so worked up.  I found Baby terrifically easy to get to know, the manual is so well written with no nasty surprises and thankfully it assumes no prior knowledge.  I was able to thread Baby up, set up stitch width and length, and begin sewing a 4 thread Overlock stitch in under 10 minutes (and that was my first ever time) I was as happy as if I had landed safely on the moon!

So to begin threading you pop your spools/cones of thread on their holders.  Then you thread the loopers (I think Looper thread is equivalent to bobbin thread), take the thread and guide it thru the notch at the top of the machine, down the channel (all very easy so far)...

... now for the fun bit; the Babylock Instant jet-air threading.  I was told about this by quite a few of you and I can see why you love it; it makes threading sooooo much easier.  The awkward part of threading an overlocker is threading the loopers and it usually involves tweezers, but with Babylock machines you just take the end of the thread and pop it into the appropriate threading port and...

...pump on this lever a few times which activates a jet that whooshes the thread through the machine until...

...the thread pops out of the looper eye (by the tip of my finger) ready for sewing.  Blimey!  That was so much fun that I un-threaded the looper again and again just so I could re-thread it.  Surely, it isn't supposed to be this easy.

All threaded up and ready to sew.

In action.  Golly, overlockers sew pretty darn fast don't they?  The trimmings catcher (the thing with the hole in it that the machine is sitting on) is so useful.  It works brilliantly and saves an awful lot of mess.

Close up view of machine in action.

My tentative first steps in overlocking are...

...a machine cover for baby.  I made this because it wasn't going to be too tricky for a first project and the cover that came with the machine was thin and crap.  Also the original cover wasn't long enough to accommodate spools of thread when stored on the thread holders (which seemed silly because the machine will spend most of it's life threaded up and ready to go).  Fabric is Alexander H. - Alboreto Disc.

I still needed to use my beloved Janome to make the cut-out hole.  Just so you know Jan;  Baby is an enhancement not a replacement. I will love both of you in equal measure (so you can stop giving each other dirty looks...).

A few stitches (from left to right):

• 3 thread rolled edge - where the raw edge is trimmed and rolled/folded under and sealed with threads.  Good for sheer fabrics and as a decorative edge.
• 4 thread overlock - 4 threads for extra strength
• 3 thread overlock - the same, but not quite as strong
• Wave - this is a decorative overlock stitch.  I'm not too sure I would really use this (my example isn't perfect), but then it's early days...

Verdict

So far I have nothing bad to say about this machine (except for the rubbish machine cover).  It feels well-built and it's not too heavy or noisy.  After playing with it for one day and making one project with it I feel pretty comfortable with the machine. I really thought it would take a little longer to feel at ease with overlocking so I'm delighted!   I can honestly say that this Babylock machine makes overlocking feel no more complicated than normal sewing.

I think that going for a machine with auto tension and auto threading has helped make this learning experience a happy one (which means that I will end up using the overlocker far more often than if my machine was lacking those features).  It's makes all of the difference that I can change fabrics and thread up the machine very quickly and without any guess work or getting the manual out (especially for a complete novice like me).

So far the major differences between traditional sewing machines seem to be that overlockers are sooooo fast; you have to be on the ball and in control (even with pressure sensitive foot control).  Give it a few more goes and I'm sure that I will come to love that super fast speed.  Turning curves and corners is also different; there is no lifting the machine foot and pivoting on the needle like with traditional machines.   The  Babylock copes fine with gentle curves.  I haven't done tight curves yet (I'll get back to you on those).  Overlockers eat thread so be prepared for that.  I may do a part 3 of this review when I muster up the courage to sew my first item of clothing...

Nope, I didn't get paid a single bean (or spool of thread; nada) to do this review.

Oh, and if any of you folks have a better name than 'Baby' or 'Jan' for my two squabbling girls I'd love to know your suggestions :)