Cut your sewing time in half with the amazing serger. Seam, overcast, and trim all at the same time.
It may help to appreciate what tension is and is not. Tension is not a number on a tension dial. While some tension assemblies are more precise than others, the recommended number on the tension dial is only a guide. Tension is the amount of drag or resistance on the thread as it moves through the tension assembly. Tension balance is the equalization of thread balanced among all the threads being sewn.
To evaluate the tension balance, perform a check sew. Use scrap fabric and sew a seam of four to five inches. Remove the test sew and examine the stitch quality and tension balance.
Identifying the source of each thread line on the test sew can be difficult. One technique to make it much easier is to use a different color of thread on each cone of thread. This way you can trace the red thread through the upper looper, the green thread through the lower looper, the white thread through one needle, and the black thread through the other needle. As you examine each color of thread, do they appear to be too tight, too loose, or are they just about right?
Make adjustments on each thread one at a time. If the thread seems loose, tighten the tension with a little right turn. If the thread looks too tight, draw up, or makes the fabric pucker; loose the tension with a little left turn. Adjust only one thread. Then proceed to the next until all threads appear in balance. See your serger manual for examples and further instruction. Repeat the serge test. Readjust.
If you look carefully, you will see that the needle threads form the seaming while the looper threads form the overcast around portion of the stitch. On one side you see the thread from the lower looper and on the other you see the thread from the upper looper. By understanding where the threads originate, you can quickly adjust their tensions.
Your serger can use many different sizes and types of threads, yarns, decorative threads, and ribbon threads, however, you must adjust the tensions to accommodate each type and size of thread. The thicker, fluffier, and softer the threads, the less tension they need. The thinner and slicker the threads, the more tension they need. Balance tensions based on how the threads lie in the stitch rather than based on the tension dial setting.
Tensions are significantly affected by the stitch width settings. Increasing the stitch width requires decreasing the tensions. Decreasing the stitch width involves increasing the tensions. These adjustments will normally affect both upper and lower loopers.
It is easy to adjust the length of stitches on a serger. Just turn a dial, but when you do, watch what happens to your tensions. To lengthen a stitch requires additional thread from the loopers, therefore the looper tensions must be dialed down. To shorten a stitch involves less thread from the loopers, therefore the looper tensions ought to be increased.
Once you have the tensions properly adjusted and balanced, you may still encounter periodic complications. If you serge too fast, a thread may drag more than other threads. If a thread snags, the thread will drag more than the other threads. In the first case, you may get smoother looking stitches by slowing down a bit. In the second case, locate the point where the thread is becoming snagged and fix it.
After the tensions are balanced and adjusted properly, you are ready to serge. Before beginning|launching|starting| a new serge stitch, clear the stitch finger and pull the threads behind the needles. Failure to clear the stitch fingers can often cause the threads to bunch up or jam.
When a thread breaks, double check the threading. Double check the tensions. Clear the stitch finger and prepare to start again. In some cases a reduction in the tension setting can relieve stress on the thread and enable you to serge. In most cases, it is necessary to completely rethread the serger. Be sure to thread the serger in the proper order upper looper, lower looper, and needles.
Originally posted 2009-03-12 03:20:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.