I’ve been asked how to do this by a few people so I thought it was about time I took a few pictures and made up a tutorial. Overlockers are great for seams, especially on knits, but if you don’t secure your threads, they can come undone.
There are a few different ways of doing this, one of which is to thread your chain through a needle and then work it through your stitches. That sounds too hard to me! I like the method below because the seams are finished as you are serging/overlocking so you don’t need to do anything later.
To Secure the Threads at the Start of a Serged/Overlocked Seam
To start with, you should have a bit of a chain coming from the machine. Put in your fabric and sew a few stitches. Stop, making sure the needles are down. (I have taken my presser foot off so you can see what I’m talking about.)
Raise the presser foot and gently tug on the thread chain to stretch it out. Pull the thread chain to the left, around the left side of the needles and under the presser foot.
Above is the same picture, but with the presser foot back on. Lower the presser foot and sew about 1 inch, while holding the thread chain forward. Then pull the thread chain over to the right so that the knife will chop it off. Keep stitching.
Above you can see what the secured threads look like at the start of your seam! They are nicely locked in and not going anywhere.
To Secure the Threads at the End of a Serged/Overlocked Seam
Serge to the end of your fabric and then go one stitch off the end of the seam.
Raise the needles and the presser foot. Gently pull the threads forward above the needles to loosen them a little.
Pull the fabric back. The slack you created by loosening the needle threads should let it come out.
Flip the fabric over so that the underside is now up. Bring it around to the front so it looks like you are at the start of the seam.
Put the fabric under the presser foot and stitch over your seam for about 1 inch. Make sure your fabric is just a tiny bit to the left so that your seam stitches don’t get cut by the knife.
After about 1 inch, stop and raise the needles. Loosen the threads again and pull your fabric out to the left.
Now that you’re off the fabric, stitch a chain to finish.
This is how it will look. Trim off the chain and you’re done!
It’s not so tricky once you know how to do it, is it? I don’t usually bother to secure the threads if I know that seam is going to get cut later by the knife when working another seam, but otherwise I do this on all my seams.
Toni-Maree says
Great tut Abby! Very well explained 🙂 thanks !
Allison says
So VERY helpful! Thank you!
Bec Clarke says
That is wonderful, I had read my mannual but just couldn’t picture it so thank you so much
Joanne says
Fantastic thank you x
Cassandra says
Fantastic tutorial Abby! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m off to spread the word now 😉
Jenny Young says
Wonderful Tut Abby – I normally thread them back in, but this definitely looks easier!
Amy Seven-Stitches says
Genius! thank you for sharing. I had put securing threads in the too hard basket.
Laura says
This is such a great explanation Abby, I’ve never fully grasped it before. Will definitely start doing this now.
hoolahoop max says
Such a brilliant idea! I usually tie mine in a little knot and trim off chain…I never want to bother with more than that, but this is fantastic! Thanks!
Shantel Jones says
So smart!
Anonymous says
Thank you so much!I’ve been knotting the end of the chain but this is so much better.
Summer says
Thank you! I just got a serger for Christmas, and I also don’t worry about ends that are going to get cut off later when attaching to another piece, but I’ve been zig zag stitching over the end of the rest of my seams. So much easier! Can’t wait to try this!
Amy (naptimecrafters) says
This is genius!!
Anonymous says
So pleased I just found this, this explanation is so clear and well explained – thankyou! Can’t wait to try it now : )
JT and Amanda says
Thanks so much!! I’ve been wondering how to do this!
Marianna says
Great tutorial. Thank you!
Renee // nearest the pin says
Oh! I’ve been driving myself crazy trying the thread the overlocker threads into a needle to feed back through the stitches – it’s too fiddly, i’ll be trying this ASAP!
Lena says
Thanks for the great tutorial. I have been trying to figure out for years what’s the best way to finish off the tails when I serged … this is a great tip!!!
abby says
thanks Lena!
Carolina says
Super thanks!!!!
I just bought my first serger and had trouble figuring out how to finish the seams off.
This is wonderfully helpfull!
A big hug from Brazil 🙂
Alyson says
Thank you for this very clear and detailed tutorial on how to secure serged ends. The pictures are really helpful too. I just got started playing with my serger and really want to master this method so I don’t have to fool with the tapestry needle and Fray Check. Thanks again!
abby says
thanks for stopping by Alyson. Happy serging!
Carolyn Myers says
Thanks for the tutorial!
Going to try that for sure.