Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger
Customer Review: GREAT instructions....so far so good
Summary: 5 Stars
NOTE on September14th, 2005: Mine has a US plug. If you get one with a foreign plug, as in one review after this one...please see that you get Customer Service at AMAZON, and I know they will help you out with that.
I was afraid of sergers, never having operated one, even though I have sewed for decades and own a sewing machine. The deal on this serger at AMAZON is so good though, that I purchased. I have never seen this excellent level of instructions in any other machine I have ever purchased. And I mean not just sewing machines, but anything. The box includes two CDs...minor critique here - why not do it on DVD?? Well, even though they say they are for Windows 95 and above, the CDs mount on a Mac and all you have to do is play the MPEGs and you have the instructions. The only thing the Windows PC will do is autorun the CD, and provide a menu which you then must click anyway. I made myself a guide to which order to play the videos in, and use it on my Mac! In addition to the basic CD, there is another one that has a refresher of the basics, plus illustrations of several other techniques. Both CDs are done by a woman with an excellent style of communication. In addition, there is a complete print manual, and you can download a pdf of this manual from the Brother site. All in all a great start. I watched the videos about ten times, then I began to serge. The machine runs fast and smooth, and I am looking forward to many hours of fun! I have already made a pair of slacks, and I can't wait to get back to sewing.
Customer Review: Good basic machine
Summary: 4 Stars
As someone who worked for a few years in a costume house, where I had access to industrial machines and never-ending cascades of fabrics and threads for all my personal projects, the absence of a serger in my home life has been devastating to my productivity. I knew I wanted a serger, but I had a very limited budget.
The Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger is a great choice for an affordable, simple serger. The brand is a familiar one, and the 3/4 feature comes in handy. Fixing the tension is easy, and the adjustable thread holder arm on top is great for saving space. It has a lot of useful stitch features, the suction cups on the bottom keep it stable on my table, and it is relatively quiet (nice for apartment dwellers).
I can't speak for people who haven't used a serger before, but I found changing threads on the machine to be easy and stress-free. The little numbers around the machine mean you know exactly where the thread goes next. It came with four different colored threads set up, so you can see which position makes what component in the stitch, and so you can follow them easily through the machine while learning rethreading. Actually, I liked the fun look of four colors and ended up using them on two or three projects until they ran out.
If you are experienced with sergers and don't mind the four colors of thread you can be serging immediately. I think I was working on the machine within 15 minutes of opening the box. I haven't watched the tutorial yet, and haven't needed to.
Customer Review: Newbie at Serging
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm very pleased with the 1034D serger and with the BROTHER Corporation in Tennessee. I shopped for a good one at a reasonable price and this one fits. These reviews here at Amazon are what convinced me to buy this serger. The unit is made in Taiwan, but they do have Tennessee phone support if you have a problem and they have a web site with Q&A's about the product. I used my tax incentive money from BUBBA, so I am hoping some of it went into the local econony, for staff and support here in the U.S.
I'm new at serging, but the CD's that came with the serger are very helpful. If you READ and WATCH the CD's, if you are new to serging, it will help you tremendously. There's a lot to learn for us newbies. I also checked out some books in the local library and purchased one book (used, from Amazon) that was recommended in these reviews, "Sewing with Sergers, the Complete Handbook for Overlock Sewing" by Gail Brown and Pati Palmer. It is VERY good!
I did mark the "feet" that came with the unit (and the Elastic Taping foot that I bought separately) with the first letter of what they do with permanent ink, as I am not familiar with them yet.
The serger is quiet and easy to use...so far, and FAST. I recommend learning to thread the unit, it's not hard, just unfamiliar. I haven't done a lot of different seams yet, but I am learning. It is exciting to get a serger so I'm on the road to new adventures!! Thank you Brother!!!
Customer Review: Love this serger!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this serger for two reasons. One was all the positive reviews I have seen on this and other sites. The other reason is I have a Brother sewing machine that I adore. Having had an old sewing machine and an ancient serger, I found both to be a pain to thread. When replacing my sewing machine a couple years ago, I happened upon a brother sewing machine, and absolutely adore how easy it is to thread. It definately renewed my interest in sewing and I have happily sewed many a project since that purchase. Recently I decided to replace my old serger so I checked out Brother to see if I could find a serger that would be easy to thread and use...low and behold I luckily found this one, and I am so very pleased.
This serger is a dream to thread with its color coded and numerical system which is marked right on the serger. I did it once, and I don't think I will even need the manual to do it again. This serger performs beautifully. The instruction manual is full of information and the two cd's give you additional visual information to make this serger live up to your dreams.
I am very happy with the purchase of this serger, and if you are hestitant at all to buy it, you shouldn't be! I am sure there are way more expensive models out there that will do more, but for the home sewer that wants a straight forward, easy to use, affordable serger, then this is the one!!! Brother definately makes great machines!
Customer Review: Easy to use, works like a charm
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm pretty new to serious sewing. I've done a few projects over the years, making some items and doing a lot of repairs on jeans etc, with a regular sewing machine. Last year I did my first coat which was challenging and I certainly learned a lot, but while it looked ok on the outside, the inside has a lot of raw edges. Over the last month I've been making a robe. I saw a pro friend use a serger and got interested in it, but didn't want to spend a thousand bucks. When I recently looked at the lower priced models, I was apprehensive. Would they break? Were they versatile enough? I've liked other Brother equipment -- I have one of their printers -- but a serger is a whole different machine. After reading a bunch of reviews on the Brother 1034D, and in the middle of this project and facing doing a lot of hems and finishing work, I took the plunge. Boy am I glad I did. I got it last wednesday; today is sunday and I finished the robe. Rethreading the serger is not hard, but practicing on scraps is absolutely invaluable. I did a blind hem with the included foot, which took more practice to get right. I finished all of the interior seams and edges in minutes, and the results look great. I'll be able to go back to the coat and finish it off with the serger. The time I saved and how easy it was to get good results more than made up for the price. I am super happy with this purchase and looking forward to more projects.