My new overlocker

I got recently a birthday + Christmas present in the shape of an overlocker. Although I don't consider myself a particularly advanced sewer (yet), I had been thinking for a while about having a more polished finish in my clothes and using knit fabrics, which can only be achieved with the help of an overlocker.

My new friend is a Husqylock S15 (Husqvarna). It took me a while to decide, I spent ages comparing online; so many brands and prices are a bit mind-boggling. At first, I thought of a second hand one for about £70, but that's already a considerable expense without being able to see if it worked properly. Then I heard that certain German supermarket does occasional offers, and discovered that it is very similar to a well known brand, but on the cheap. I was mainly sceptical about the customer service for such a high cost item.

Eventually, I went to a local shop and they showed me a few different models but, being a beginner, I wasn't able to distinguish how the sound can give you a clue about its quality; all were noisy to me. I went for the least expensive. The lady was really nice and went through the threading patiently and made it so easy that I don't understand why it's feared so much.

To summarise, these are a few tips on how to choose an overlocker:

- Price?
I would recommend  to buy the best you can afford. In terms of price, compared to a beginners sewing machine, mine cost £100, a decent overlocker is around £200. I ended up contributing to the purchase, as it was too much for such a small machine.

- New or second hand?
If possible, I would go for a new machine to avoid surprises, like missing parts. If it's only, say £50 it's too good to be true.

- Brand?
Some brands are actually part of the same company, e.g., Husqvarna, Pfaff and Singer, which manufacture in China, so they're probably going to have comparable quality (and a cover made of plastic).

- Shop?
Choose a shop that provides a brief tutorial about threading and can help you later on if something goes wrong.

- Free arm?
Not essential; it's useful to remove the left part and it helps for sleeves or trousers, but you can always lift the garment and rotate it on the side.

- 2-3-4-5 threads?
Most do 2, 3 or 4 threads, which I think is sufficient. I felt a bit disappointed that from the many stitch options with 2, 3 or 4 threads, this overlocker doesn't do a coverstitch (two parallel lines), but there is the alternative of using twin needles in a normal sewing machine for finishing hems.

Finally, one important thing I've learned is that threading is easy. You just need to follow the diagram and get a good pair of long tweezers (to get into the nooks and cranies).