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Serger Secrets: High-Fashion Techniques for Creating Great-Looking Clothes

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Description

Serger Secrets is the best serger sewing book you'll ever own! Mary Griffin, Pam Hastings, Agnes Mercik, Linda Lee Vivian, and Barbara Weiland, America's top serger experts share the most popular and innovative ideas for making gorgeous garments with a serger. From pintucking and piping to quilting, shirring, and inserting a zipper--this book has the step-by-step instructions and detailed photographs sewers need to get the most from their sergers. In Serger Secrets you'll find: 500 photos--one for every step of every technique 121 solutions to 39 problems you may have with your serger 58 techniques--all with step-by-step instructions Dozens of inspiring photographs of completed garments 60 pages of expert advice to help you master your serger Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rodale Books; First Edition (January 1, 1998)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1579544649


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 45


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,717 in Fashion Craft #2,131 in Sewing (Books) #2,199 in Fashion Design


#1,717 in Fashion Craft:


#2,131 in Sewing (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Super book to go with a new 2010 serger!
I got my first serger a few months back, a high end Husqvarna Viking Serger, the Huskylock 936, which has 5 thread serging as well as cover stitch (incl chain stitch) capabilities. I must admit, I felt quite intimidated, since there is a huge step from understanding and mastering an ordinary sewing machine to understanding and mastering such a 5 thread wonder, with all it's parts, threading etc. The Huskylock 936 is wonderful in that it is computerized and when you pick which seam you want to use and the type of fabric, it tells you which tension etc. to use. But, no matter how much automatic stuff, if you sew quite a bit, the time comes where you have to adjust settings to get the result you want, especially if you want to sew on challenging fabrics using challenging threads, ribbon, yarn etc. for special effects. No matter which year model of serger you have, whether it is computerized or not, sergers are pretty much the same. When I look into mine, I see the same basic parts as on other brands and models and also have no problems understanding the explanations in Serger Secrets, even if they show it on different/older sergers. For that reason I strongly disagree with the reviewer who gave a super low score saying that "Sergers has come a long way in 10 years", indicating that the sergers in this books were obsolete and that this book won't be of help if you have a new serger. I could not disagree more! I must say, after getting the book, I read it quite quickly, as it was so easy to read and understand, everything felt really useful and for that reason it was even fun and excited reading. I could not put it down and got read eager to start trying out all the techniques etc. that the book shows you, amongst others because I started feeling like I really understood how this machine works. That help is really good to get, it really gives you a lift. I must add though, that when I looked at serger books here on Amazon, I found it difficult to choose, I felt like getting a few, as several seemed really nice. I had to decide on getting one basic book to learn me how to work the machine and how to be able to get everything out of it that it can do. I have not regretted at all that I chose this book for that! I chose to add one other book though: The Ultimate Serger Answer Guide: Troubleshooting for Any Overlock Brand or Model (Creative Machine Arts Series). I felt that it would be useful to have that one as a reference book in handling problems that could arise. The latter one is IMO not the type of book you just read through, but when I find myself having to handle a challenge, I look the problem up in that guide and easily (every time) finds the solution. The book list several possible answers, but most of the time the first option has solved it for me! It simply lets me solve things without any frustrations, which is worth a lot. When I start a project and I'm unsure about something, I quickly look it up in Serger Secrets to remind me of what I already read - just love this book for that. It really gives me all the answers I need. The intimidation I felt at first, was gone after reading a bit of this book, since it quickly gave me the confidence to start experimenting, and when I was done reading it, I felt real confident that I would be able to learn the ropes necessary to have a ball with my new serger, creating clothes and other things for myself/others. For any person new to serging, or those that never got started with the serger they got quite a while ago, I can't recommend this book enough and the same goes for the other one I mentioned. They are a perfect pair and no doubt a must have, as I see it! Since I mostly sew with knits and would like to learn all the techniques used for such fabrics, I ended up adding a third book after a while, Singer Sewing with Knits (Singer Sewing Reference Library), also a super easy to read book which has so many useful techniques for creating clothing from knit fabrics. Couldn't put that one down either when I got it and use it to look up things when needed. That book is also an older book, only available used (from only $0.97-2.71, I got mine at $0.99 and to my surprise it was new even if it was sold as used), but it really does not matter that it is 18 years old! What it shows you, are techniques as usual and useful today as they were when the book was new in 1992 (it really doesn't matter that the photo's show outdated clothing!). These three books really has been great, they're giving me the results I want! Getting that professional finish without going through the frustration of having to figure things out by trial and error (or not being able to do certain things) or having to go to a course to learn, is really great! Can't ask for more! And, real important to me, nothing has been too complicated for me to utilize, including language wise (with English not being my native language). I really appreciate it when books are as easy to read and understand as this one (and the other two I referred to)! Can not recommend this book enough, IMHO it is even a steal at only $15 (or down to $8 new/used from Amazon affiliates)! :) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2010 by Lotta on Troublemaker Str

  • Serger Secrets
I recently purchased a new Viking 936 to have a cover stitch function. I have checked out all the serger books from the library I could find. And I own two other Serger books. This book is detailed and describes many different serger techniques. It is easy to follow and figure out from any key word or decription of the stitch one intends to create. It gives a great overview of all that a Serger is capable of doing and has limited to no interest in selling a particular brand. So you may well find good information on your specific machine. I would also advise the purchase of this book if you are looking to buy a serger especally if you are wondering what a serger can do for your sewing. There are just limited resources written for this product and it's uses let alone very specific easy to follow directions show with actual real projects and practice steps to learn the stitch functions and see visually what the machine is capapble of. I can't say enough good about this book. If you buy any serger book let it be this one. If you are looking for a book to teach you about the use of the Babylock then I would recommend the newest book on Serger use by Nancy Zieman. Otherwise Serger Secrets has everything you will need to guide you through using your new or your unused serger. This is my third serger. I sew for fun and to provide well made quality in my wardrobe and my home. I highly recommend this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2010 by Jnetti

  • Serger Secrets - A great choice for me
I purchased this book after first checking it out from my local library. I'm new to serging and was looking for information on when and where to use a particular type of stitch. Most books seem to focus on chainstich and coverstich, which my serger does not have, and the projects seem to focus heavily on using those features. This book does go over these nicely and gives ideas and illustrations but I didn't feel cheated that my serger doesn't have these features. This book also has a nice reference of what needles to use, types of threads and different techniques. It goes over each of the stitches, shows the settings and materials used with a picture. Yes, it is 10 years old and you can see that in the style of the many of the projects but this was not an issue for me. I was still able to see how to apply these ideas to newer projects and learned quite a few new things. I particularly liked the sections on joining lace to delicate fabrics, using it for easing and the section on Heirloom serging, which is completely new to me. I liked this book enough to return it to the library and buy it for future reference. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2011 by D. Koher

  • Very pleased
The book was clearly a used book but in spite of this it was a physically sound book with a tight binding, clean pages and an undamaged cover. I am very pleased with the condition and the contents.
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024 by V. Hagemeister

  • Fabulous book! Must have!
I have poured over this book again and again. It is full of basic information, great ideas, step by step instructions for every example. It's my favorite serger book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2021 by PS

  • a great reference book
I will add to all the positive reviews that this book has received. It is a very thorough explanation of the serging process. While I did invest recently in a Baby Lock Imagine, the pages for threading and tension did not pertain to my particular serger. I still thought it was beneficial to have this be a good reference in explaining the various stitches and the capabilities of sergers, in general. It arrived quickly and was packaged well by the seller. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2015 by baba2

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