Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year, for me anyway, please bring me a new serger.

If you don’t already own a serger, I hope you have one on your wish list for this holiday season. I remember the first one that I bought over 25 years ago. My family and friends received cloth napkins as gifts that year.

I still give cloth napkins as gifts, but now they come with embroidery designs selected for the recipient. After all, you can only give plain napkins so many times. (Before I had an embroidery machine, I would decorate them with rubber stamps.)

Making napkins is one of the easiest sewing projects, particularly with a serger, even for beginning sewers.

You may have heard (or experienced) that changing some sergers from one sewing setup to another is a daunting task. George Moore calls these machines ‘closet sergers’. If the thought of changing your serger to do a rolled hem causes you to break out in a cold sweat, stop by a Moore’s Sewing Center location and have them show you how easy the changeover is on a Baby Lock serger.

Supplies:
– Serger
– 3 cones of thread that match your fabric
– Fabric – I use linen, but any fabric will work
– Seam sealant

Serger Setup:
Set up the serger to do a rolled hem. Check your machine manual for details. (On my Baby Lock Imagine serger, I remove the left needle and set three selector knobs per the Quick Reference Guide for 3-thread rolled edge. Now my serger is ready to use.)

Sewing Instructions:
1. Cut fabric into 18-inch squares or your choice of desired size and shape. To make the fabric easier to work with, use Best Press spray starch and iron your fabric before cutting.
2. Place the right edge of your fabric under the presser foot.
3. Serge the rolled hem along the edge, extending the chain of stitches about 3-inches when you get to the end.
4. Repeat on remaining three sides.
5. Cut off thread tails and apply seam sealant.

Add a design or monogram with your embroidery machine (optional):
1. Hoop water soluble stabilizer.
2. Attach napkin to water soluble stabilizer using either a spray adhesive or a glue stick.
3. Stitch out the chosen design.

4. Remove the napkin and stabilizer from the hoop. Trim away excess stabilizer.
5. Rinse out remaining water soluble stabilizer. Dry and, if necessary, iron napkins.

Other than wrapping them up, the napkins are ready to give as a gift… On second thought, you might like them so much that you have to make another set to give to the intended recipient.