Why I love my Brother 1034D Serger

Cath Virginia is the elder decorator present astatine The Verge, who creates illustrations and collages for our articles. However, she besides has “dabbled” (as she puts it) successful diagnostic designs for articles specified arsenic 2004 was the archetypal twelvemonth of the future (which won the 2025 ASME Award for Best News and Entertainment Design), How the Stream Deck roseate from the ashes of a legendary keyboard, and The Lurker. “I besides designed the branding for Notepad by Tom Warren and precocious refreshed the look of Verge Deals,” she explains.

When not doing this awesome work, Cath sews. A lot. And so, erstwhile I asked her what 1 of her favourite gadgets was, she said it was her Brother 1034D Serger. If you’re not rather definite what a serger is (I surely wasn’t), work on.

What precisely is simply a thread serger?
A serger, besides known arsenic an overlocker, is simply a benignant of sewing instrumentality mostly utilized successful apparel making. It has 2 needles and uses up to 4 strands of thread astatine a clip to make the loops and finished borderline you spot connected the wrong of astir knitwear, similar T-shirts and leggings. It besides has a weapon that cuts the borderline of your cloth astatine the aforesaid time, truthful the finished merchandise looks cleanable and professional.

When did you bargain this one, and what went into the decision?
I bought this 1 this past March arsenic a day and taxation instrumentality present. I’ve been wanting 1 for a while, due to the fact that I sew a batch of clothes. I’m picky astir benignant and, being fat, person a hard clip uncovering apparel I similar that really acceptable me. I besides emotion wearing knits due to the fact that they’re comfortable, and accepted sewing machines aren’t intended chiefly to sew knit garments, which request to person stretchy seams. You tin usage a zigzag stitch to execute a agelong successful your seam, but the serger sews and cuts each astatine once, arsenic good arsenic finishes the wrong edges, truthful it saves a batch of time. 

In choosing a serger, I wanted 1 that was casual to thread, had an adjustable escaped limb for sewing cuffs and sleeves, and could sew aggregate layers of cloth astatine a time. I watched a clump of YouTube reviews of sergers and recovered this 1 to beryllium beauteous affordable — and it checked my boxes. It besides got amended reviews than its cheaper sibling, the DX. I was intimidated by it astatine archetypal due to the fact that 4 spools of thread is benignant of scary. But it has intelligibly labeled and color-coded instructions for threading and comes with a manual, truthful I learned it and had it down successful nether fractional an hour.

What bash you usually make with it?
So far, I person hemmed a mates shirts and made a maxi skirt (with pockets!) and a harvest top. That was aft a agelong and frustrating play trying to larn however to usage it. I besides dulled 2 antithetic knives, learning that you can’t sew implicit pins with a serger due to the fact that determination is simply a large metallic weapon chopping your seam off.

What bash you similar astir it?
Sometimes erstwhile you’re sewing knits connected a accepted (lockstitch) machine, the edges go unintentionally ruffle-y (due to its 1 measly feed dog, which is the moveable sheet that pulls the worldly done from stitch to stitch). This tin marque your portion look beauteous weird and bad. Another large happening astir this serger is that it has thing called differential feed, which uses 2 provender dogs to sew your cloth together. It tin beryllium adjusted to provender 1 portion of cloth faster oregon slower, truthful it volition flatten retired your wobbly knitted seams oregon tin beryllium utilized to make a lettuce hem. It besides comes with a gathering foot, which tin beryllium utilized to stitchery and sew (intentional) ruffles!

Is determination thing astir it that you dislike oregon that you deliberation could beryllium improved?
This is really connected maine for not doing rather capable research, but erstwhile I bought it, I was excited to yet beryllium capable to bash the coveted two-thread coverstitch you spot connected the hems of T-shirts and different knit stuff, lone to find retired you actually request a full different instrumentality that virtually lone does that 1 thing. That was disappointing to find out, but to compensate, the serger does really travel with a blind hem foot that you tin usage to bash an good content of one. It’s benignant of a finicky stitch to get right, though, due to the fact that you’re sewing from the incorrect broadside of the fabric, and I had to bash rather a fewer samples to trial it retired earlier I utilized it connected immoderate garments. 

Who would you urge it to?
If you sew a batch of knitwear clothing, it tin beryllium a truly utile instrumentality for leveling up your garments and being a spot much efficient! It’s not a full replacement for a lockstitch sewing instrumentality but I’m truly liking it truthful far. Don’t beryllium excessively intimidated by the 4 threads: they are your friends. And don’t effort to sew implicit immoderate of your pins.