Neat
Endings

By Sallie J. Russell

Secure and neaten the end of a serged seam with one of the following techniques:

Seal It
Leave a thread chain at the end of the seam. Apply seam sealant to the chain; clip off the excess thread chain when dry.

Flip It

Serge one stitch off of the fabric; raise the presser foot and carefully pull the threads off the stitch finger (if necessary, pull a slight amount of slack in the needle thread above the eye).

Turn the fabric over and re-stitch the seam for 1"; raise the presser foot and fold the fabric back to the left of the needle. Lower the presser foot and chain off the fabric; trim off the excess chain (Figure 2)

Figure 2

Serge one stitch off of fabric. Pull thread off stitch finger.

Turn fabric over in front of needle, resume stitching for 1".

At end, overlap several stitches, letting knife cut beginning thread.

Pull thread off stitch finger and chain off fabric.

When serging circular shapes like garment hems, clean-finish at the seam beginning and end. Before beginning to serge, carefully pull the thread chain off the stitch finger; begin serging. At the seam end, take a few stitches over the first stitches, cutting off the original thread chain. Raise the presser foot and again pull the thread off the stitch finger, angling the fabric back to the left. Lower the presser foot and chain off the fabric (Figure 3); apply seam sealant and trim off the excess chain.