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Question of the Week

Question for the week of April 28, 1997:

Our question this week comes from Ken K

Is is alright to serge the seams on a quilt?

Moneica Koehn :
Not if you are going to use the quilt, ok if it is a wall hanging

Diane McGuire :
I serged a double Irish chain (60" x 60") and it came out perfectly! I liked it so much I decided just to turn under the edges and use it as a table topper. I would recommend serging only on blocks with straight seams, however.
Shirley :
This is certainly a great time saving idea as long as you plan on tying or machine quilting the finished project. The seams are way to HEAVY to hand quilt.
Jennifer Hargus :
Yes, but you will lose accuracy in
piecing. It would be too hard to
maintain quarter inch seams. But
it might be fun to try a crazy quilt
that way.
Valerie Salter :
It is just fine to serge on quilts.
Rosemary :
Yes it is O.K. to do that, but not too many people do that.
Shelley :
I serge seams on simple quilts such as Eleanor Burn's Quilt in a Day patterns. It is fast and the seam stays consistent. You must watch your needle tension because if it is loose the threads will show and this can be quite ugly. As for ripping out seams, use a crochet hook and catch your needle threads, then pull each out - the upper and lower looper will then just fall off.
Shari S :
Depends on the purpose of the quilt. If it is used and washed often I would consider serging the seams. If I were making a quilt to hand down to future generations I would not serge the seams..
> Ceola :
When I first got my serger and was reading my serger book, it recommended using it for quilts because of the 1/4" seam it makes and the extra strong seams. I used it for one quilt that was fairly simple and it worked great. However, I use my sewing machine on most quilts because its easier to rip out mistakes.
Charlotte :
I would use the serger for decorative seams where you want the thread to show.
The example I saw was a denim quilt with a different color thread in each looper,
and the seam were ON TOP, not inside the quilt. It was casual and different.
But for a regular quilt, I would not because of the lack of precision, the difficulty
when needing to rip out an error, and the bulk of all the extra thread.
Marcia Esparza :
My first 3 quilts were for my grandsons, they were log cabins with colorful "fussy cut" centers and bright colors, I serged all three then did top quilting with regular sewing machine. That was 3 years ago, they are holding up very well. But the precision is not as exact and I don't use serger for my regular quilts now. If you have a great new serger and the style is right, go for it. Depends on your machine and style in other words.

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