Serger Question, someone please respond

[Isserty_Dawn]

I used to have a serger but I didn't know how to use it so I got rid of it. Now I'm wondering if that was a HUGE mistake . Can anyone please tell me if a serger is really important in sewing or can I get by without one?
I'm wanting to start making costumes and home crafts if that helps any.

 

[Chilufya]

You can get by without one - it makes some things faster, and some things easier, but if you have to choose between the two, a sewing machine is the thing to have.

 

[Krazy_4given_1]

Hey. My mom has made A LOT of clothes. (I do too sometimes... haha) She used to use the serger all the time. But, it's not a must. All it basically does it make that finishing seam you see on store bought clothes, along with cutting off alittle strip of fabric. It gives that 'store bought look' I guess. But like someone else said, you can get by without one!
good luck on the making clothes!

 

[pmcleanj]

I used to have a serger but I didn't know how to use it so I got rid of it. Now I'm wondering if that was a HUGE mistake . Can anyone please tell me if a serger is really important in sewing or can I get by without one?
I'm wanting to start making costumes and home crafts if that helps any.

Count me in with the "you don't need it" crowd. I've gone twice now to buy myself a serger, and come home with a better sewing machine instead. If your sewing machine does stretch and edging stitches, it can do everything a serger can do, just slower. Which, when you're a beginner, just means you don't have as much to pick out, and when you build up expertise means you have the flexibility to use the coutoure techniques that look a whole lot better than the ready-to-wear look that a serger gives you.

If you're doing a lot with stretch cottons and artic fleece, and don't work with taffeta and batiste, a serger can be a real advantage. But threading and tensioning a serger can be a large effort, making it unhelpful unless you're going to do a fair length of sewing with that thread colour.

When you're starting out, all you really need is a sewing machine -- and a straight-stitich-and-zigzag machine, at that.

 

[Isserty_Dawn]

thank you everyone