Brother Serger, 1034D, Heavy-Duty Metal Frame Overlock Machine, 1,300 Stitches Per Minute, Removeable Trim Trap, 3 Included Accessory Feet, White

Have owned this serger for two years and have had no major issues with it. At first, I was intimidated by the idea of buying a serger, but I promise it's really pretty simple to use and even changing out the thread is easier than I expected. For the price, you can't beat the value! Before purchasing a serger, I used a very expensive Baby Lock Ovation at a sewing workshop. Was it good? Of course, but it also retailed for around $6,000. For under $200, I've used the Brother 1034D several times a week, and have not experienced any repair issues or malfunctions. Don't be afraid to purchase a serger online. I know lots of seamstresses will suggest buying one from a local dealer to get customer service and repairs, but for such a low price - you really can't go wrong. None of the Brother sewing machines I've owned have ever needed to be serviced or have broken. While I know the serger has many functions, I have solely used it as a 4-thread overlocker - which is why I bought it in the first place. I find it to be a bit of a hassle to constantly convert and change a sewing machine. Brother products are so affordable and I personally have found the quality to be great - especially when considering the price. Adding the Brother 1034D Serger to my sewing machine arsenal has been one of my most useful purchases. Some tips I can offer to help avoid frustration: -Always test out scrap fabrics that are the same as the project you're working on -The different settings including differential feed, stitch length, and stitch width - play around with them using scraps and keep a notebook handy to record which settings worked best with various fabrics as a reference guide -Make sure the presser foot is down before you start to serge - this may seem kind of common sense, but I've accidentally serged with the presser foot up more times than I'd like to admit!

I am a novice to the serger but I have sewn for a very long time tho in no way an expert, moderately skilled I’d say and I often don’t understand many parts of sewing machines and most certainly before I purchased, nothing about serving except that I am short and always have to hem and slim bottoms of pants and like a nice finished look on seams. And let it be known that I have not attempted threading yet except for the needles but have watched many videos...not the one included as I read it’s old and not very good!....and am confident I’ll not have too much trouble. Tho that’s yet to be determined! I’m working on learning tensions and settings for different materials and writing them down so as not to have to trial and error them again. I find that the most confusing part of any machine. My reg machine is auto set which I love. I also found some helpful online Videos regarding this. I love that it came already threaded with different color threads and a practice piece done so you can see what it’s supposed to look like. The cutter works fabulously and love that. One thing missing is how to remove the threads to put new ones on but I also found something good about that from a person who went to a serger class. I did oil the machine first tho found the diagram of what to oil confusing as as beginner to those parts, again online video helped. Loved the blind hem stitching tho initially had a little trouble with it as it’s a little different from a reg machine but once I realized that from a video it was easy and looks awesome! Tho still need some practice with. If you’re a beginner I think practice is key first. I’ve spent a week researching watching videos and has helped tremendously. I also got my handy labeled out and labeled all the parts, also helpful. This is a perfect serger for me and I love it! Update...I have threaded this machine quite a few times now, most successfully and it’s really not hard at all, all color coded. I’m finding the hardest part is getting the right tensions for different fabricsI. finally after working on that all day, am happy with the ones I managed to get for most fabrics I’d be using. My advise when you do find them if you’re able is to snap a picture of it, I printed these out but if no printer can just keep on your phone and use the markup feature to label. I have a printer and I taped a piece of the fabric onto each of the pic of those settings, adding the other settings like diff feed etc to it.

I have been intimidated for years about buying a Serger machine. My first hurdle was the high price but after finding the 1034D along with it's great customer feedback and very affordable price offered by Amazon, I was able to overcome that hurdle. My second intimidation was mostly that serger machines looked complicated especially the threading portion. Well, I wasted all those years bogged down in my own -- unwarranted -- intimidation. The Brother 1034D 3 or 4 Thread Serger was easy to use RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. I appreciated that it came pre-threaded so that I could practice a little before I had to try to thread the machine on my own (be forewarned -- the included thread does not last long). As I understand the world of sergers, this is a very simple machine and therefore only does some of the basic functions (4-thread serging, 3-thread serging, blind stitching, etc.). It will NOT sew a regular seam while sergering the edge concurrently (apparently you need a 6-thread, or larger Serger). For my purposes, this machine is perfect. My only complaint lies not with the machine itself; but with the instructional DVDs (I did not let this complaint carryover into my 5 star rating). I could find no way to make the video expand to full screen so I had to tried to 'squint' my eyes to try to see some of the necessary details of threading. Rather than try to learn how to thread this machine by using the included DVD, let me recommend a VERY good YouTube video (by Candice Ayala) that did a much better job of showing you the up-close detail of threading the machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ1ycPZTdOo&list=PLRYJimUvBQAKzLmBMx8QPiGdW-HQ112Xa&index=1 I also took her recommendation to label the machine (see her video). I have only had this machine for less than a week but have been putting it through the paces. I had to rethread the machine almost immediately but was able to do it fairly easily and correctly the first time I tried (again, thanks to Candice's video). It has performed flawlessly and has transformed my projects from looking untidy to looking professionally finished which is important to me. I can also feel reassured that my projects will not continue to unravel. While the included DVDs are too small to pick up on small details, I would still recommend that you watch both DVDs as they do offer so good suggestions (like how to finish off at the end of a seam).

Great addition for anyone who sews. Easy ish to thread. Follow diagram and you tube videos to make it easy. Works well. Love it

Its amazing, easy to thread. Its the best ever had.

Although I got my first sewing machine 33 years ago I never considered a serger until I wanted to make leotards for my daughter. I opted for this inexpensive machine because I thought it wouldn't be too much money lost if I didn't like it. I wish I would have gotten it a long time ago. It comes pre-threaded and it was very easy to start using it immediately. When I endeavored to change the thread it got a bit tricky. Threading the lower looper is the hardest part. Sergers are complicated machines. The manual is good when trouble shooting tension problems. The threading was still a bit hard even following the manual closely. I haven't used the included videos too much but my husband helped me and he said that he had better luck with You Tube tutorials than he did with the included video. The tie-off threading method is usually pretty successful. Since I have never tried any self-threading models I'm not sure if that feature is worth the extra money. It didn't come with the elastic foot so I bought it separately since I sew leotards. I haven't had much luck using that foot yet. It works great just doing samples but it is hard to control the exact fullness desired with a specific length of elastic/fabric. I ended up giving up on the "elasticator" and instead baste the elastic into the leg openings with my conventional machine to place the fullness exactly where it is needed and then overlock it in place using wooly nylon in the loopers. I think this is a great machine for the money and would highly recommend it. I might consider someday upgrading to a serger that has a coverstitch option. I think this machine is definitely worth the money and a good place to start.

I've been sewing less than a year and this is the 1st serger I have had success with. I was able to start serging right out of the box because it came threaded but when my threads ran low I was able to successfully rethread my machine without an issue. My advise to anyone new to serging is to get this machine and take photos and video of everything when you get it so if you get at all confused about how to thread it you can check your photos. Everything is color-coded and the thread paths are printed right on the machine but having the photos of all my original settings and threadings has helped me. I am so happy with this purchase. In many ways it is easier to use than my regular sewing machine which is also a brother. Having the two machines makes me really excited about what I can create now.

For being such an affordable serger, I have very few complaints. I searched for a long time to find a serger that was both in my price range and also well-reviewed. I settled on this one and have no regrets. It is excellent quality and hardly ever has problems. When it first arrived, I found it difficult to learn to thread (which is common for people new to sergers), but I quickly found an in-depth tutorial on Youtube. That is one of the best things about this machine: it is so common that there are many videos on how to fix any feasible problem. I have found that to be one of the best qualities of my past machines, and this is no exception. After about 1 hour, I could thread the machine in five minutes or under. Although I still have to really study and understand the effects of alteration of certain threads on the tension, I do think this machine is very easy to get to know. Before purchasing, I had read reviews saying that having sewing machine oil was a necessity for this machine. I use it multiple times a day and lubricate it about once a week. I started doing this from pretty much the third day I had the machine. I haven't noticed a major difference between pre lubrication and post lubrication, but it is recommended. Occasionally, my machine will come unthreaded, which happens probably once every 3 days, but seeing as I have pretty much mastered threading the machine, I do not mind much. I did dock it a point for Easy to Use for that reason. I have to add that I do not work with very lightweight or heavyweight fabrics. I typically use midweight cotton, linens, and, on occasion, french terry or other knits. The lightest weight I have used on this serger is poplin and has faced no issues. For that reason, I cannot speak on whether or not this machine is adaptable to all fabric types because I sew on so few. Finally, this machine comes with a regular foot with 2 other feet. I do not often use them, however, it is really handy to have them for when I do need them. Overall, this serger is of great quality and very beginner-friendly.