Serger or just zigzag my seams for six garments a year in a small flat

Question

I make maybe six garments a year, mostly cotton wovens and the odd knit tee. My finishes are zigzag or pinked and they hold up fine, but they look homemade…

muslin_mira · Accepted Answer

For six wovens a year, no. Buy a French seam habit and a decent pair of shears instead.

A serger earns its space when you sew knits regularly or make enough that the time saving matters. On a 90cm desk you will be lifting it in and out of a cupboard every session, and a machine you have to lift is a machine you use half as often. For a nicer inside on wovens: French seams on anything light, flat felled on anything sturdy, bias bound on curved edges. All three look better than serged anyway.

patch_pocket_pia · Answer

I sew about your volume and bought one anyway, and I use it for maybe 20 percent of my seams. I do not regret it but I would not call it a need. Threading it four times still takes me longer than I would admit.

saltcrust_nia · Answer

Middle path: an overcast foot plus your machine's overcast stitch. Not as fast, looks 80 percent as tidy, costs almost nothing and needs no extra desk.

rust_bloom_bo · Answer

If your seams hold up fine and only look homemade, that is a photograph problem, not a garment problem.

Serger or just zigzag my seams for six garments a year in a small flat Technique

8 answers