SINGERProfessional 14T968DC Heavy-Duty Metal Frame Serger Overlock and Accessory Kit with 2-3-4-5 Stitch Capability, Removeable Trim Trap, 1300 Stitches per minute, & Self Adjusting, White

UPDATE July 21,2021: I have now bought a second copy of this machine. Keeping one setup for coverstitch and the other for overlocking. For the Amazon price, around $450, this is a no brained setup. I whipped through making 10 tshirts in about an hour with not having to change between coverstitch and overlocking. The one machine would honestly have been fine, but at this price, really a no brained. Plus, with two identical machines, nothing new to learn and always have a backup for the other. Great machine. Tip: I see that some third party sellers are selling for $800. Definitely wait for Amazon to have back in stock or check the Singer website for their stock. The real going price for this right now is $450.—-UPDATE June 14, 2020: So after a few days of sewing, the knife stopped moving. I cracked open the cover to look under the hood and immediately saw the issue. The metal pin in the joint of the arm assembly for the moveable knife had fallen out along with the small set screw on the arm. Putting the pin back in and tightening up the set screw was relatively quick and easy except for removal of the plastic cover which was tighter and more of a pain than it should have been to remove and put back on. I recognize that this issue would likely have caused a return or a repair trip for the average sewer. It didn't look like the set screw had any threadlock on it and with how much overlockers vibrate with normal use, I imagine the screws could get loose and will need to be maintained. I fixed this because I am somewhat mechanically inclined, but buyers should be aware that with machines like this, some mechanical maintenance will probably be required similar to industrial machines. That said, they should have tightened down the set screw better when manufacturing so it didn't loosen up in the first week. Still a great machine when its screws aren't loose!—-ORIGINAL REVIEW: This machine has to be the best deal going for a serger that can also cover lock. On sale, it was around $449. For that money, you get beautiful overlock stitches, automatic tensioning, nice wide swing arm, up to 5 thread coverstitch, and excellent speed. There are machines that are literally 8x the price that don’t give you all of these features. Singer’s own other brands use the same internal mechanism for 3x the price. In my view, air threading saves very little time and isn’t worth the extra thousand or two for the literal one minute of time savings when changing configurations.I was confused by some of the lower ratings and read those reviews. It appears that there are a number of reviewers that were simply intimidated by the machine and the threading. Know this, this serger is an extremely simple machine. Much simpler than a computerized sewing machine. On this machine, you can thread up to three needles and two loopers. Depending on the stitch, you may only need a single needle and single looper, or two needles and single looper etc. So the most common configurations generally won’t require more than 3 spools and 2 of them will be needles (this is true of all sergers). All of the configurations possible are listed on a handy dandy quick reference page in the manual (worth copying that page and keeping it close to the machine). The needles are incredibly easy to thread, about 10 seconds each. The loopers have a specific pathway that is clearly marked with color coded dots. Once you know the pathway, each looper will take about 30 seconds to thread. So I can go from 3 thread overlock to 5 thread coverstich in about 3 minutes. If someone is spending hours, they’re doing it wrong! Changing thread for the same configuration is the same as any other machine, just tie off the old thread to the new thread and pull it through. Again, a 2 minute operation for 4 spools.This is a hidden gem of a machine, not just for the variety of stitches and speed, but the quality of the stitching compares to industrial machines. All for under $500. If you’re in the market, highly recommend this machine. You can take the thousands you’ve saved and either buy fabric or buy stock and retire earlier.

Easy to asemble. Quiet. Easy to thread. Easy to move from room to room. BEAUTIFUL stitch. Is NOT my first and only sewing machine. Funtions perfectly. I love it.

I'm not totally new to using sergers, but I've never threaded one, so I was expecting a challenge. A big one, considering that some reviewers had stated that shifting from coverstich to serging was a bit of a process. However, I was looking for a machine that could create both a coverstich and serge, and the price point had to be on the low end, so this was it. I am mechanically inclined, but even if I wasn't, I think I'd be able to operate this machine. The cd manual walks you through every adjustment for every stitch, one step at a time, and the auto tension combined with little levers that thread the hidden loopers for you make it so anyone who can follow directions with a steady hand can set up and operate this machine.As I'm still relatively new to sergers, I'm purchasing a book in addition to the machine to explain the uses of each stitch, but stitch set up and threading are completely covered in the manual. I only wish a printed copy of the information included on the cd had been provided, as I'll need to print it anyway since it will be a constant reference item.I can't speak to the longevity of the machine yet, as I've only had it for about a week, but so far I've had no issues. Every stitch has formed perfectly once set up according to directions. The only thing I felt was a bit illlusive was the upper and lower looper terminology. Personally, I'd have said front and back, because one is in front of the other, not really higher and lower. However, once I understood which was which, it was easy to proceed.It is a bit of work to rethread and change the clutch to shift from serge mode to coverstich mode. It takes me about 10 minutes three days into practicing. I'm sure it will be faster as I memorize the steps. If I were working long days constantly needing to shift back and forth, I'd get a separate machine. However, for the advanced hobbiest or beginning cottage industry, it is the perfect solution for the price.

Oh my. Tried it. It came with leader threads (no spools) to do a triple cover stitch. I tied on my serger threads and pulled them through no problem, except when it came to the needle. Ugh! Took me 3 hours, glasses, magnifying glass and bent up serger threader to finally be able to thread the needles. It sewed really nice until at the end of the fabric I raised the foot (supposed to release the tension) and tried pulling the piece out of the machine backward. No tension release. Just before I started pulling, I noticed that one of the needle threads was broken. OK. After a HUGE tug of war, I finally got enough of a thread chain to cut off. Thread in the same needle kept breaking. OK. I put in a new needle that Singer supplied. Same thing. Also, they didn't show how to get the threads under the foot. I tried several different things, but nothing worked. The thread broke again. Same needle. Then when I opened the looper cover, I found that all of the needle threads had wound around a looper and tied themselves into a tight knot. What an ordeal. I spent all day, more than 5 hours trying to get the thing to stitch correctly. No luck. Threads kept breaking and tangling. I finally said enough is enough. I packed it up and am waiting for UPS to pick it up. I had previously tried the Brother CV3440 and that thing was junk. I have now ordered the Juki MCS-1500. If I can't make it work I will give up on a cover and chain stitch machine. The Juki is supposed to be so much better than these others, but I did not want to spend the money. Wish me GOOD luck with the Juki.