why does my serger hate me! =(

[karen09]

I was so excited to get a serger and even more excited when it came with an instructional dvd. i have a kenmore serger. i am following the manual, changing the settings correctly for a rolled hem, yet my right needle thread kep breaking. why? its driving me crazy. i even broke a needle. ive never done that. could it still be then tension even though ive set it as suggested? im using a lightweight non stretch cotton.

[TheDIYninja]

 was the presser foot up when you adjusted the tension? Try rethreading the needle(s) and check the looper(S) for thread tangles

sergers like to be played with LOL.. i couldnt figure out why my thread would start out throught he needle and even if i held it it would come back up out of the needle when the needle wasnt broke and the thread didnt break!!!!.. i still cant figure it out! but.. i rethreaded it from scratch and it fixed it.

[Cheyenneswthrt07]

rethread it ands start backwards, as in leave the needles last and thread the lower loopers first starting with the extreme right side lower looper and working your way over.  For some reason sergers must be threaded this way in order to work

[BT]

I have a Kenmore serger and I feel your pain!

You MUST thread the serger EXACTLY like it shows in the video.

You may be using the wrong size needle. Try a larger size.

Sew s-l-o-w-l-y. Just because it will sew a million stitches a minute doesn't mean you have to sew that fast.

Let us know if that helps.

[karen09]

TheDIYninja, or anyone for that matter, what effect does it have on the tension if the presser foot is up when i adjust the tension?  should i keep it down all the time?

My needle count is up to FOUR! I have become a pro at rethreading my serger. the first time i did it out of the box it took me a whole hour because i kept doing it wrong. But say the left needle thread breaks, do i have to rethread the whole thing?

BT, thanks for your advice, i think that was my problem with the needles breaking. I think i was trying to sew way to fast. Since you have a kenmore, perhaps the same one, i have a question for you. Ok so  you know the last hole you put the thread through before it gets pulled to the top, for some weird reason, it will be perfectly threaded and then all of a sudden it stops working and the thread is missing from the hole yet, its still running next to the chain. does that make sense? maybe ill take a picture.

thank you guys for your help!!!

[TheDIYninja]

Karen, i was always told to have the presser foot up when adjusting tension.. i am not sure if this applies to sergers or not.


I hope you find the culprit soon. i know how frustrating it can be!

[karen09]

i took a picture to better illustrate my problem. anyone with a kenmore serger or any serger please come to my rescue. this is my first serger so i dont know if they have all the same threading components. anyway on to the picture...



ok so where i have the purple circle and an arrow is a little hole for the thread to go through as indicated by the yellow line. but....sometimes i will be sewing and it will be going fine, and then all of a sudden it stops serging correctly, the threads are still coming out but its not making the chain. it some how bypasses that little hole yet, it still come out through the top like the orange/red line. how does that happen? it makes me so frustrated. any ideas? does anyone else have this problem?

i think my problem with the needles breaking was, me trying to sew too fast and maybe i was pulling the fabric. idk. it wasnt anything thick. it was just thin cotton broadcloth. thanks for your help!

[Cheyenneswthrt07]

On my serger the hole is closed, so this may sound like a dumb question, but is yours a closed hole or is does it have a way to make threading easier?  It's the only thing I can think of as to the why your thread isn't breaking when it's not in that part. 

[karen09]

It is a closed hole not a slit or anything. I usually use the tweezers when threading through that particular hole because it kills me to try and do it by hand. That's why I don't understand how it happens. I'm convinced it's the work of elves. At least until someone can offer me a better explanation. 

[Cheyenneswthrt07]

I'm tapped out as to why it's doing that then, it's seems so wierd like it's snaping the thread and then picking it back up, which doesn't happen on my serger when that thread breaks.