Serging Ahead

Today I took a class in serging. It was the first of three in a series, held by a sewing machine store in Santa Maria. It was very basic, very nitty-gritty, and I liked that about it. We learned to thread our machines from scratch, we labeled important parts, we sewed three stitches - the four-thread overlock, the three-thread wide overlock, and the three-thread narrow overlock. These last two require that a needle be removed and the thread to that needle unthreaded.

Serging requires detailed attention. It seems funny to me that because of its peculiarities and sensitivities, a serger needs its sewer to pay close attention to the way the stitch looks, to the tension, to numerous details, and this means, really, that one must be patient. Yet one big reason for the desire for sergers is their speed. They so outdistance standard machines in speed that it's stunning. That aspect seems to appeal to the impatient.

Next week we are to bring one yard of fabric and four rolls of wooly nylon thread. We are going to make rolled hems (Linda did show me that on her visit to my house but I would have to dig through my instruction manual to remember just what she did), among other things. The wooly nylon thread is for stretchy fabrics. I had never even heard of that thread before. We will make a set of napkins out of the fabric, so I asked daughter Mary if she'd like some. She said sure, taupe. So I'll find some nice material that's taupe.

I did not love the instructor but I like her approach. She wants us to be very comfortable with our machines. Thus, after we struggled with threading and changing needles she cut all our threads so that we'd have to thread the machine again. I managed to do so faster this second time but the first time I tried a stitch it jammed up part of the machine. I worked it out and solved the problem on my own, always a good sign. I need this kind of instruction to give me confidence.

I suspect many would not enjoy this way of teaching, including many in my regular sewing classes. Instead, they would want to get sewing right away, and learn by making mistakes. That method works as well. It's a little like learning a new language by studying grammar or by learning conversationally. A bit of each is good, I think.