Saturday, March 14, 2009

Evolve

I've had fun getting to know my new serger. I had my former serger, an Elna Pro 5 DC, for about 15 years, so I expect it will take some time for me get used to the Evolve. But so far, I like it! Since my conventional sewing machine is a Bernina, I first considered the Bernina 1300MDC. When I went to my favorite dealer and told her what I wanted, she recommended the Babylock Evolve. They didn't even have a Bernina serger in the store to demonstrate! According to the dealer, when the owner's classes are held, the Babylock owners were much happier and had lots more fun than the Bernina owners. Still, I wanted to make an informed decision, so I went to another dealer for a demonstration and second opinion. The second opinion was the same as the first. They, at least, had a Bernina 1300MDC machine on site to demonstrate, but only one salesperson knew how to use it and she didn't work that day! The poor little machine was on the floor under the shelf that held the Babylocks.

As an introductory project, I took time off from garment sewing and made covers for my machines. My objective was to use serger stitches that I don't often use so I could see how difficult is was to change configurations for different stitches. I finished the seam allowances by sewing them together with a two-thread overcast stitch and I used a cover stitch for the hems. It took a long time, about 3 - 5 minutes, for me to configure the serger for the various stitches. But once it was configured, the stitches looked great and no further fine tuning was necessary. I'm sure my times will be better when I'm more familiar with the machine. When I was totally finished experimenting with the stitches and configurations, I set it up for the 5-thread (2-thread chain w/ 3-thread wide overlock), the stitch I use most often. Switching between that stitch and the 3-thread overlock, my second most used stitch, won't take long.

The manual boasts 87 stitches! (I counted only 70, but hey …) According to Babylock, 3 thread overlock narrow and 3 thread overlock wide are two different stitches. According to me, a 3-thread overlock is a 3-thread overlock, no matter how wide or narrow it is. At first, just the idea of 8 threads was a little intimidating. I wanted a serger that did a cover stitch and the chain stitch-overlock combination. The only way to have both is with 8 threads. All eight threads can actually be used at once, (can you say "overkill"?) but I don't see that in my future. I have one small issue with the Evolve. My Elna came with a thread catcher and the Evolve does not. I had to order one from Clotilde.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Babylock Evolve. I was sad to see the old Elna go, but nothing in this life is constant – not even sewing machines.

9 comments:

  1. I've been eyeing the Huskylocks just because I love my machine and its a Viking/Husqvarna. I'm going to search out a Babylock and try one.
    *of course, I may just decide to get the professional dressform instead. Decisions decisions.

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  2. I really enjoy using my Evolve. I hope you do, too.

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  3. Jealousy is a sin and so is envy but I guess I can say I wish-hope to up grade to this model sooooon! Enjoy your new machine:)

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  4. Thank you for that information. I sew on Bernina sewing machines also, but have a White serger, which is going to need replacing one of these days. I've been interested in Babylock, and am glad to hear a review.

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  5. I truly love my Evolve. This is my 3rd serger and I tried 2 other brands before I went tot he Babylock Serger. The jet air threading is worth every dollar.
    Joyce in NC

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  6. Congrats on you new Evolve and enjoy.

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  7. Oh my, now I think I want one of these ..

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  8. I'm so happy for you getting a new serger. Mine is ancient, but I love it to death and use it with almost every garment/ item I make. The more you use it, the more you will love it. My serger is a Bernette funlock that I got about 20 years ago. It doesn't have differential or anything fancy, but still, it's a great workhorse.

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  9. Using stitches that you normally don't use....What a great idea to get to know your machine. Your covers look great.

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