I Bought an Overlocker… So Obviously I’m Overlocking EVERYTHING
I bought an overlocker.
And apparently, once you own an overlocker, everything must be overlocked.
Does it need overlocking?
Irrelevant.
Can I physically get it under the presser foot?
Excellent. OVERLOCK IT.
I've wanted one for a while, and now that I finally have one, I genuinely don't know how I managed without it.
There is, however, one tiny problem.
There Are Cuttings EVERYWHERE
My overlocker doesn't have the little tray that catches all the fabric it cuts off as you sew.
At first, I thought:
How much difference can a little tray really make?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
There are currently tiny strips, threads and fluffy bits of fabric EVERYWHERE.
On the table.
On the floor.
On me.
Probably on the cats.
I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still finding little bits of fabric at Christmas.
But has this stopped me?
Of course not.
Because I have an overlocker now, and THINGS NEED OVERLOCKING.
Obviously, I Needed to Know How It Worked
Now, a sensible person might have bought their new machine, read the instructions carefully, watched a few tutorials and gradually learnt how to use it.
But where's the fun in that?
I wanted to know how it worked.
Immediately.
And that's where things went slightly wrong.
At some point during my enthusiastic investigation, I managed to end up with the machine...
COMPLETELY UNTHREADED.
Not one thread left where it was supposed to be.
If you've never seen the inside of an overlocker, this might not sound particularly dramatic.
If you own an overlocker, you already know.
FOUR THREADS. WHY ARE THERE FOUR THREADS?!
I looked at the machine.
The machine looked at me.
And I'm fairly sure it knew exactly what I'd done.
There are threads going up, down, around, through hooks, through holes and into places that don't look remotely possible.
But I'd got myself into this mess.
So I was going to get myself out of it.
How hard could it be?
An hour.
It took me approximately AN HOUR to get the thing threaded again.
There may have been some words spoken during that hour that aren't suitable for the More Shabby Than Chic blog.
Thread one.
Thread two.
Where does thread three go?
Why has thread one come out?
Start again.
WHY IS THAT THREAD NOW OVER THERE?!
At one point, I genuinely wondered whether I'd ever sew anything with it again.
And Then… It Worked!
Eventually, after an hour of threading, rethreading, checking, swearing, rechecking and questioning why I'd ever touched it in the first place...
IT WORKED.
And I can't even tell you how pleased I was with myself.
Not only had I managed to completely unthread my brand-new overlocker, I'd actually managed to put it back together again.
More importantly, I now know how to thread it.
Admittedly, that wasn't quite how I'd planned to learn.
But sometimes throwing yourself in at the deep end is the best way.
Although next time I might just read the manual first.
Maybe.
Nothing Is Safe Now
Now that I've mastered threading it, I've gone straight back to my original mission:
OVERLOCK EVERYTHING.
Every project suddenly needs beautifully finished edges.
I'm looking at bits of fabric I've owned for years and wondering whether they could benefit from a quick overlock.
Frankly, nothing in the sewing room is safe.
And judging by the mountain of fabric cuttings surrounding my machine, I've been putting it through its paces.
I really should buy that waste tray.
Actually, considering the amount I'm using this thing, perhaps I should buy a skip.
So, This is what happens when I am left unsupervised, I Bought an Overlocker… So Obviously I’m Overlocking EVERYTHING
So, until the next “I wonder if I can make that?” moment…
If you've enjoyed my latest adventure (or disaster!), give the post a like and leave me a comment below.
And if you own an overlocker, I need to know: what did you overlock when you first got yours? And please tell me I'm not the only person who managed to completely unthread it almost immediately!
Don't forget to subscribe to the blog so you don't miss what I'm making next, or what piece of machinery I decide to interfere with next.
Rhiannon x
More Shabby Than Chic 🧵✂️
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