What is a serger?

A serger, also known as an overlocking machine, is a type of sewing machine that sews a seam, trims away excess fabric and encloses the remaining edge inside a thread-based casing in one movement. Sergers use one to five threads from cones to create reinforced and decorative stitching.

Sergers are used to sew delicate fabrics, such as tulle and netting, create rolled hems and to add decorative edging on appliques. While sergers perform some of the same functions as sewing machines, they cannot be used to apply facings, buttonholes, zippers or other detailed garment construction elements. As of 2014, there are numerous industrial and consumer serger models available with different thread supplies and sewing capabilities.