Customer Reviews

The Complete Serger Handbook

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am brand new to serging and used Amazon book reviews to help me pick books. Believe me when I tell you that this book is excellent. It is clearly written, has wonderful color pictures, and is perfect for the beginner. It explains the different stitches and what they are used for, how different threads are used and how they react in sergers. You get tips on threading, tension adjustments, troubleshooting, securing seams, needle selection, working with knits, and using elastics. You also get ideas for fun projects and much more. If you are just getting started in serging or would like to learn more, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Out of the six different books I've purchased recently, this one is by far the best. You just can't go wrong with this book.

Having just bought a serger and quickly realizing I had very little idea of what to do with it I went hunting for a book. This one was a great choice.....It is comprehensive, easily read and understood, and has great visuals. I am positive that I will be referencing it constantly as I try and learn to use my new machine.

One thing: In hindsight I wish I had bought the spiral bound version...The soft cover version does not stay open on its own (nor does it lie flat) which means I either have to give up a hand to hold the book or read some and set it down and go back to it again.

Also, I would not recommend this book to an experienced serger. It definitely sticks to the basics (which is still a lot to say to a novice), and I have seen more creative and comprehensive books for the more advanced. This book is definitely for the person who has never serged before!!

And if you are a novice, this will be a wonderful resource!! (regardless of which brand or type of serger you have)

This book is the perfect book for a beginner serger owner. Serger manuals are useful for getting to know the mechanics of your serger, but leave off after listing the basic stitches and settings. Serging really is different than sewing, and this book of Chris James' teaches you everything else you need to know to become very adept at using your machine. The close-up photos really illustrate what the stitches should and shouldn't look like. Her book also helps you understand how the machine works, which in turn allows you to master your machine (rather than merely follow the settings in your manual). She offers many, many tips and how-tos, and her samples are inspirational. I have noticed several small mistakes, such as a mismatch of needle sizes (she says 80/14 and 90/16 rather than 80/12 and 90/14, and at least one of her rolled hem close-ups is mislabeled.) Don't let that stop you from purchasing this book however.

I teach serger classes to new serger owners and much of what I discuss comes from this book. I also have the "Serger Secrets" book. It shows more specific applications; very useful as well. I also refer to my "Polar Fleece Adventures" series by Nancy Cornwall often as I serge with fleece frequently.

I have checked out almost every book on serging at my local library. I decided to purchase this book after comparing them all. This book is straight forward, easy to understand and, I think, the best book on serging that has been printed to date.

This told me EVERYTHING to begin serging, practically from taking it out of the box. It discusses everything from turning the machine on and off, to threading for different stiches, the differences between stitches, good fabric to use versus good fabric for regular sewing, etc. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for the complete novice.

On a recommendation from a friend, I checked this book out and decided to purchase it. It is informative, easy to follow and easy to understand. I highly recommend it to anyone that just purchased a serger or has owned one for sometime and it's setting in a closet in its original box!

This books picks up where the instruction manual leaves off. I recently purchased a serger and this book helped me to familiarize myself with the machine, different types of threads and the various types of stitches that can be made with a serger. The photos and clearly written instructions in each chapter made me very comfortable with my machine. The author provides the right amount of detail to guide you step-by-step without becoming overwhelmed. I highly recommend this book to beginners, but it's also a good resource for the more advanced.

I am a beginner and my teacher used this book in my surger class-she told me to buy it and read it like a college text book, complete with highlighting passages. I did and WOW. I refer to it often-the photos are detailed and directions complete and easy to follow and understand. A lot of shortcuts are included as well. I highly recommend this book for all ages of surgers!

My new serger came with great technical documentation, but no examples of what the different stitches are used for, or really useful troubleshooting techniques. I figured out a little and then bought this book. All the information I sought is right here. Granted it's probably fairly basic stuff, but it's just what I needed to know and is presented in a very user-friendly manner. There are multiple examples of uses for various stitches (and plenty of pictures) that helped me connect them with their names so I could get more value from the documentation booklet supplied with the machine. This book isn't machine specific so using both together gave me the best results.

I greatly appreciate the troubleshooting section of the book as it describes what to look for first, second, etc, when you're not getting the results you expect, and again, lots of pictured examples to help you identify your exact problem. Since I'd just gone through one such episode, eventually finding the problem on my own, I knew this book was right on target (and if I'd had it sooner, I'd have saved that hour of frustration). There are also tips and tricks that have really helped me, such as how to change threads more easily. I must say the serger intimidates me a little, but this book has made the learning curve much shorter and I know I will continue to get use from it as my skills mature because there are examples of more complicated things I look forward to trying. I've found it well worth the purchase.

I am new to using a serger and found this gem of a book to help me understand how to get the most out of it. The explanations are easy to read with plenty of photos for greater understanding. This handbook covers all you need to know about using a serger,from serger parts, threads, threading, tension controls and techniques. There's guides in the back to help with trouble shooting and machine maintainance as well. I have yet to find another book that explains so much about the functions and features of a serger in such a user friendly format. I'd recommend it to anyone who has, or is thinking of buying a serger - from beginner to advanced!