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Say goodbye to serger thread tails

January 13, 2009 :: 6:19 pm :: DIY and Craft Tutorials, Product Updates :: 10 comments

decorative pillow covers - pressed flowers on rose

These are the latest bright and billowy pillow covers that I’ve added to the shop. They’re 18″ square cases that come on and off the pillow insert of your choice with an invisible zipper, and the edges of the inside seams are finished with a serger for a polished, more professional look.

serged pillow cover seams

My serger is a Brother 1034D that I love, from Amazon.com. It has no thread cutters and makes no locking nor backstitches however, so you get a couple of thread tails when you start and finish serging your seam. Up until now I’ve simply been tying each thread tail into a knot and snipping off the loose ends. Nothing wrong with that method, but today I finally stopped long enough to look for alternative methods.

I found a sweet Serger Basics article on WhatTheCraft.com that answers my very question: how do you hide serger thread tails? The short answer is to thread the tail through the eye of a darning needle and use the needle to draw the tail through/underneath the threads of the overlocked seam. I remember seeing this technique elsewhere, but the golden nugget of WhatTheCraft.com’s article is that you slide the needle underneath the threads of the overlocked seam BEFORE you thread the tail into the eye of the needle. A-HA! That takes care of either not having a long enough tail to thread through, or using too much thread to create a longer tail. Brilliant!

I’ve also vaguely recall learning a technique long ago where you use a thin metal crochet hook inserted between the threads from a couple inches away from the thread tail and draw the thread tail down from the bottom instead of from the top. I didn’t have a slender enough crochet needle to try, but I think that could work equally well.

Here’s the link again in case you too are wondering, “Just what DO I do with those long thread tails that my serger leaves behind?” Here is your answer, with step-by-step photos and instructions.

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