I have decided to buy myself some more time – by investing in some new hemming tools for my serger/coversticher. I have a 5-thread Pfaff Coverstyle 4850, a combo machine that is now discontinued. The reason why I bought a combo was both due to $$ and space issues, and while it has taken me years to master, I think it does a decent job. I guess stand alone machines has less issues and probably do a better job, but the Coverstyle works for my purposes. Anyways I was browsing thru the manual the other day and saw that you could buy an attachment for automatically turning the fabric while coverstitching. No pressing required. I hope that is true – it sounds like a wonderful dream!
The other attachment that I bought is a blind stitch presser feet. Blindhemming on a serger would be much quicker, so again I am cautiously optimistic about my purchase.
Has any of you tried these kind of attachments? I am a little vary of one-trick gadgets. I once bought an invisible zipper feet for my old Husqvarna that was just really hard to use, in fact my regular zipper feet did a better job than the special feet! But maybe these will be better?
9 Comments
Betty
April 8, 2010 at 1:37 pmI used to be very skeptical about specialty feet, but I've changed my mind since I've seen what they can do.
I still can't bring myself to do a machine blind hem, though. I feel like the results are better when done by hand.
That's interesting about your invisible zipper foot. I love mine and couldn't do invisible zips without it. Do you have a metal foot? I have a metal one and it looks like it would be more stable than the plastic ones I've seen.
Johanna
April 8, 2010 at 1:55 pm>>Betty: Thank you for the input! Hat was assuring to hear. The zipper foot I bought was in metal too, maybe it was me that was the problem! Blindhemming on machine is not as neat as hand hemming, but it is sturdy and quick and looks pretty good after some practice.
sdBev
April 8, 2010 at 7:17 pmJohanna
I have the blind-hem foot for my serger and I'm not impressed. It does trim and stitch at the same time, but much too much of the stitch shows through on the front side.
I do like the idea of the foot which will turn the fabric for your cover hem.
And I understand why you want a combination machine. I have a seperate blind hemmer that is pushed to the back corner of my serger table when not in use — which is most of the time. But the point is, every machine I add gives me less operating room and more chance for possible disaster. Having combination machines is a good idea.
Julie
April 9, 2010 at 2:12 pmI'm a fan of specialty feet. Some that I've bought have been stinkers but most of them give me nicer results and save me tons of time. I haven't mastered my blind hem foot yet.
Antoinette
April 9, 2010 at 2:23 pmI've really held off purchasing special feet for my machine because I know I'll be getting another machine in the next year from a different brand. And I have been considering a combo machine (serger & coverstitch) but it's hard to make a decision about one machine vs. two because the sheer number of reviews is overwhelming! I know a lot of my decision will be based on budget, accessibility to repair people, and trying them out (maybe over and over). *sigh*
Johanna
April 9, 2010 at 6:14 pm>>Sdbev: Darn about the blind hem foot! I suspected that, it sounded a bit too good to be true that you could make invisible stitches with the serger. I can only hope this one is better or at least can be improved upon by trying different settings.
>>Julie: I hope I will feel the same way!
>> Antoinette: I can relate, and another thing to consider is the price of presser foots and other extras, some brand charges ridiculous amounts for these. I have heard some good things about Janome, a seller I talked to said that they were really sturdy workhorses, but don't take my word for it though!
Johanna
April 9, 2010 at 6:21 pm>> Antoinette: Forgot to say that I think that ease of switching between coverstiching and serging is a *huge* factor if you buy a combo. While I have managed to get quicker and quicker it is always a pain in the butt to switch the set-up on my machine.
Antoinette
April 10, 2010 at 2:05 pmThat's the thing about buying a new machine — there are so many people's reviews, testimonials, etc. etc. I wish it were possible to rent various brands of machines and try them out for a month before deciding. I think I'm going to stay in the world of used for now. Looking at a used Babylock serger tomorrow. My current machine is a Kenmore, but made by Janome, and I can attest to its workhorsedness! Not great with thick stuff, like denim, etc. but a breeze to sew everything else. Thanks for getting me thinking about this again.
Amanda
January 5, 2021 at 11:46 pmLol I just read that part of my manual today, January 2021… I’m hoping to find it. I’m sad to say I’m having a horrible time trying to find parts for my old machine