Overlockers/sergers were designed to perform a definite function, namely construction. In industry, the machine was designed to perform one stitch function and usually only the one stitch. The industrial overlocker/serger was used for everything from garments, utilizing a chain stitch with seam and overcast, upholstery and a multitude of commercial applications such as holding flour and feed sacks together with a chain stitch only. In the factory, a full time technician or mechanic was employed to keep the machines at their peak performance.

Overlockers/sergers crept quietly out of the industrial marketplace in the 1960's and early 1970's, in their simplest and crudest form. They bear little resemblance to today's sleek models. The first machines were unassuming 2 thread machines with dials and little or no flexibility in stitch length or width. They performed a simple overcasting function only. Tensions were unmarked dials and most often came with no manual and used industrial needles with a round shank. If a manual was provided, it was basic and more inclined towards maintenance rather than performance. The first domestic machines also lacked any lighting!

3 thread overlockers/sergers followed into the domestic market, performing a more durable stitch, which locked at the seam line unlike their 2 thread counterparts, which locked at the fabric edge. Instruction and information had changed little-still basic and an assumption that we wanted to know how to maintain our overlocker rather than use it! Some 4 thread overlockers started to appear in the domestic market but were not as we know them today: they were generally a combination of a 2 thread chain stitch and 2 thread overcasting stitch and often limited in their application. They still had no lighting but many now used domestic machine needles.

Over the decades, significant changes transpired. Colour coding of thread paths was a major leap forward, along with marking reference numbers on tension dials and, at last, they had a light! Much of the guesswork associated with the overlocker was eliminated. Threading was still challenging, especially the manoeuvre to thread the lower looper, which often meant having hands like a contortionist and holding your tongue in the right position!

The 4 thread overlockers were in the domestic market for some time before the introduction of 'differential feed', the addition of a second, independently adjustable set of feed teeth under the presser foot. Finally there was a simple adjustment mechanism to push fullness or stretch into a fabric or garment, or to hold back fabric a little, eliminating puckers in fabric or garments. The differential feed access in the first domestic equipment was once again typically a cumbersome process requiring access to the inner workings of the machine.

Today's overlockers/sergers are light years away from their pioneering counterparts. The "next generation" of overlockers are those with multiple functions and adaptability, allowing the user to do anything from garment construction, home decorator treatments to avant-garde art and rich embellishment.

In this class, "4 thread stitches" I will look at the typical application and then a variety other applications for the same stitch, developing your understanding of the overlocker/serger while expanding your sewing repertoire.

Enjoy the Lesson.