(no subject)

[figment]

Auuugh!!

I just bought myself a new serger. Hooray! (I bought it in person today because the one I ordered on line was cancelled. Blah.)

But!! I am working on setting the ratzenfratzen thing up, and I had forgotten what a gigantic pain those things are to thread. No matter what I do I seem to keep on messing up the fourth thread/lower looper thread. It looks to me like I've done it right, but no, it doesn't work.

This is when I really, really miss living in the same area as my friends who sew. I could really use a sympathetic ear, and another pair of eyes to look at it and see where I'm going wrong.

Comments

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

I just bought myself a new serger. Hooray!
Mazel tov! I cannot even begin to tell you how much Susan loves her serger (which she's had for more than a couple of years now but from time to time she will still *bounce* as if it were new). She has used it in the making of many amazing Halloween costumes for The Wonder Gavi, as well as curtains for friends and other wonderfulnesses. *bounce*

I am working on setting the ratzenfratzen thing up, and I had forgotten what a gigantic pain those things are to thread.
Indeed and alas. And getting all the tensionings juuuuuuust right can be a bit tricky; when you don't, threads will break … whereupon the dreaded rethreading begins anew. I've grown accustomed to occasional streams of colourful invective exposition issuing from the sewing room, although they've become less frequent as the years pass.

Still and even so she loves it beyond measure. We wish the same for you and yours.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[dreamsewing.livejournal.com]

a possible cause of thread self cutting and fix:
when you have them all threaded, as you swing the arm back into place, make sure you pull them all straight out from the space which snugs around the needle at 9 'o'clock and kind of set the foot down on them. If you have one or all pulled more at 11 or 12 o clock, they'll tangle on the first stitch and cut.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I made sure to do as you said this morning when I was attempting again, and so far I have had more luck. Strangely it seems that the lower looper thread wants to break at the cone/spool - I serged very slowly and was able to see it break and tie it back together to keep going - I'm not sure if there is something wrong with that particular cone of thread, or if I just need to serge slowly and be careful. But thanks! It does seem to be going better now.

[dreamsewing.livejournal.com]

hmm, if you're serger has an arm that sticks up as a thread guide/holder before going round the first tension knob... then... if it is an "L" shape a) make sure it is turned the right way round, you should be looking at the inside of the joint. and then some machines like better to be at 10 & 6 o'oclock and others at 5 & 8. Otherwise the bottom looper thread is spinning out at a different rate than the others which causes tension and snapping. If you have a straight arm; try threading through the arm in the Opposite direction of the others on the arm AND on the "over and under" jon the body of the machine before it goes into the first tension knob, again, that sometimes help the thread feed rate. If all else fails, , have you tried using a different thread spool? It could be a crap spool. Sometimes the first time it's good to put a different coloured thread on each spool, so you can if it is looping right, if the colours suddenly change it usually means the middle 2 threads are misthreaded, Not necessarily the bottom last thread (even though it's snapping , it could be the others are knotting it, and then causing tension etc.)

And honestly, a lot of the time, the far right thread simply doesn't work well, so unless you REALLY need that look, you can just use the main first three from the left. We have an industrial Juki and the 4th never works, in fact in all the years, all the shops I have worked in, we usually don't bother with it! ;)

[rgeorge.livejournal.com]

I think the trick with mine is that I have to thread the lower looper first, then the upper. Once I have it working, it runs long enough that by the time I need to rethread it again I forget, do it wrong once, then get it right.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Thankee. I think that sequence is very important, and so far this morning I have had more luck. Strangely it seems that the lower looper thread wants to break at the cone/spool - I serged very slowly and was able to see it break and tie it back together to keep going - I'm not sure if there is something wrong with that particular cone of thread, or if I just need to serge slowly and be careful. But it does seem to be going better now.

[lthomas987.livejournal.com]

My experience is that there is an order in which things should be threaded. Frequently it's lower looper then upper looper otherwise it will keep breaking the upper looper thread. Also.. thread with the presser foot up so the tension disks are open.

On some models the threading diagram is numbered to indicate the order. Also be sure the thread is hooked on the back side of the lower looper arm if it's got a hole there.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Thankee. I think that sequence is very important, and so far this morning I have had more luck. Strangely it seems that the lower looper thread wants to break at the cone/spool - I serged very slowly and was able to see it break and tie it back together to keep going - I'm not sure if there is something wrong with that particular cone of thread, or if I just need to serge slowly and be careful. But it does seem to be going better now.

[silmarian.livejournal.com]

Silly Birdfigment! You're going wrong right there, see? No, over there, under the thingey. Next to the metallic thing, with the plastic thingamabob...

[nicholay.livejournal.com]

You should probably drink more before during and after setting up any complicated piece of machinery. You'll find that you won't mind those little setbacks as much.

Sadly...

[buccaneer.livejournal.com]

I've never performed serger-y.

[arvedui.livejournal.com]

Don't worry. If it doesn't work as advertised, it's still a hefty brick-of-a-thing; a great tool of thuggery. If you can't join with it, beat with it.