Serger Sewing Tips for Beginners: 11 Steps to Pro Seams

You just unboxed your first serger, threaded it with four cones of thread, stepped on the foot pedal, and watched the fabric zoom through the machine at what felt like warp speed. The seam looked nothing like the neat, professional edge you saw in every YouTube tutorial — it was loopy, uneven, and the fabric edge curled under itself somewhere around the halfway mark. I have been exactly where you are. In March 2023, I sat down with a Brother 1034D fresh out of the box and spent three hours just trying to get the lower looper thread to catch properly. That frustration is the reason I wrote this guide.

What follows is not a rehash of the manual you already tossed aside. I have tested every tip in this article on real fabric — cotton jersey that rolled at the edges, lightweight rayon challis that puckered under tension, and denim heavy enough to make the knives work. By the time you finish reading, you will know how to thread a serger in the correct order, balance tensions by reading the stitch — not the dials — and troubleshoot the five most common problems that make beginners want to throw their machine out the window.

What Is a Serger and Why It Changes Everything for Beginners

A serger — also called an overlocker — is a specialized sewing machine that trims the raw fabric edge and wraps it in thread in one pass. Unlike a standard sewing machine that uses one needle and one bobbin, a serger uses multiple thread cones and loopers to encase the fabric edge completely. The result is a seam that will not fray, stretches with knit fabrics, and looks identical to what you see inside store-bought garments.

The reason this matters for beginners is simple: a serger solves two problems that plague new sewists. First, it eliminates the slow, tedious process of finishing seams with a zigzag stitch or pinking shears. Second, it produces consistently professional-looking results even if your cutting is slightly imperfect — the knife trims away inconsistencies as you sew. When I switched from finishing seams on my regular machine to using a serger for the first project, a simple knit t-shirt, the construction time dropped from roughly two hours to forty-five minutes and the inside looked better than the outside of some earlier projects.

Understanding the machine’s anatomy helps before diving into tips. A standard serger has two needle threads and two looper threads — the upper looper wraps the fabric edge from above while the lower looper wraps from below. The knife blade sits to the right of the needle and trims the fabric edge milliseconds before the loopers encase it. Knowing this order of operations matters when troubleshooting because it tells you where a problem originates: if the fabric edge is not trimmed cleanly, the issue is the knife. If the looper threads are not catching, the issue is tension or threading order.

Serger vs. Sewing Machine: Key Differences Every Beginner Should Know

A serger does not replace a sewing machine — it complements it. Understanding what each machine does best prevents the frustration of trying to use the wrong tool for the job.

A sewing machine creates seams by interlocking a top thread with a bobbin thread through a single needle. This is ideal for topstitching, inserting zippers, sewing buttonholes, and any task requiring precise, visible stitching lines. A serger creates seams by looping multiple threads around the fabric edge while trimming it. This makes it the superior tool for seam finishing, constructing knit garments, and any application where seam stretch and durability matter.

The key operational differences that trip up beginners are speed, fabric handling, and correction difficulty. A serger runs significantly faster than a sewing machine — typically 1,300 to 1,500 stitches per minute versus 800 to 1,000 on a standard machine. This speed means fabric moves through quickly and there is less time to correct mistakes mid-seam. The feed mechanism on a serger uses differential feed, which allows the front and rear feed dogs to move at slightly different rates to stretch or gather fabric as needed. Most importantly, correcting a mistake on a serger is more involved than on a sewing machine — you cannot simply pull out a few stitches because the knife has already trimmed the fabric edge. A mistake means losing a small strip of fabric width, which on a garment with narrow Ultimate Guide To Drafting a Flawless V-Neck Pattern”>seam allowances can ruin the piece.

Essential Tools and Supplies Before You Start

Before touching a single dial, gather the right supplies. Walking into serger sewing with the wrong thread or needles creates problems that look like machine malfunctions but are actually setup failures.

Thread quality matters more on a serger than on a regular sewing machine because the machine runs at higher speeds and the threads pass through multiple tension discs and guides. Use serger-specific thread cones rather than standard spools. Cone thread unwinds from the top, which prevents the thread from catching and snapping at high speed. All-purpose polyester serger thread works for most beginner projects — it has enough strength to withstand the tension demands and enough flexibility to stretch with knit fabrics. Avoid bargain-bin thread that sheds lint heavily; the resulting buildup in the tension discs and loopers will cause skipped stitches within the first hour of use.

Needles must be serger-compatible. The standard needle system for most home sergers is the HAx1SP or ELx705, but check your manual to confirm. These needles have a specific groove shape that allows the thread to pass at the high speeds and angles a serger demands. A universal sewing machine needle will fit physically but will cause thread breaks and skipped stitches because the groove is not designed for serger thread paths. Keep an assortment of sizes on hand: size 75/11 for lightweight fabrics like rayon and silk, size 80/12 for standard quilting cotton and broadcloth, size 90/14 for denim and canvas-weight fabrics.

Additional supplies worth having at your serger station include a small lint brush with stiff bristles — sergers produce more lint than sewing machines because of the knife cutting action — tweezers for threading the looper eyes, and a notebook dedicated to recording tension settings for different fabric types. The notebook habit saved me countless hours; I recorded every successful combination of fabric type, needle size, thread type, and tension settings so I could replicate results without guesswork.

Tip 1: Thread Your Serger in the Correct Order — Every Time

Threading order is the single most important rule in serger sewing. Unlike a sewing machine where the order of threading the needle matters less, a serger’s loopers and needles must be threaded in a specific sequence for the threads to interlock properly. The threads form a chain that depends on each thread being in the correct position relative to the others.

The correct order is always: upper looper first, lower looper second, right needle third, left needle fourth. This order works on virtually every home serger regardless of brand. The reason is mechanical: the looper threads sit deeper inside the machine and the needle threads pass over them. If you thread a needle before the loopers, the needle thread will block access to the looper thread path and the stitch formation will fail.

When threading, guide each thread through every tension disc, guide, and hook in the exact path shown on your machine’s threading diagram. Most sergers have color-coded thread paths printed directly on the machine body. Follow these paths point by point — do not skip a single guide. One missed guide creates a tension imbalance that manifests as loops on the fabric edge.

A threading trick that helped me early on is to tie the new thread to the old thread and pull it through the entire path rather than rethreading from scratch when changing colors. Cut the existing thread at the cone, tie the new cone’s thread to the tail with a square knot, release all tension discs by setting every dial to zero, and gently pull the thread through the entire machine from the needle end. Once the knot passes through, clip it off and reset the tensions to their working values. This method cuts rethreading time from ten minutes to about thirty seconds.

Pro Tip: If your serger stitches suddenly look terrible and you cannot figure out why, rethread the entire machine from scratch before touching any tension dials. Ninety percent of serger stitch problems begin with a thread that has jumped out of a tension disc or guide — and rethreading fixes it faster than any other troubleshooting step.

Tip 2: Master Tension Settings by Reading the Stitch — Not the Dials

Serger tension causes more confusion than any other setting because beginners tend to treat the numbered dials as absolute values. The numbers are reference points, not calibrated measurements. A setting of 4 on one machine produces a completely different result than a 4 on another, and the same setting behaves differently with different thread brands, thread weights, and fabric thicknesses.

The reliable method is to learn to read the stitch itself. A perfectly balanced 4-thread overlock stitch has these visual characteristics: the needle threads form two straight, parallel lines on the top of the fabric. The looper threads meet exactly at the fabric edge — the upper looper thread wraps over the edge and the lower looper thread wraps under it, meeting in the middle. Neither looper thread should be visible from the opposite side of the fabric, and neither should pull the fabric edge into a tunnel or let it lie loose.

When the upper looper tension is too tight, the upper looper thread pulls the lower looper thread up and over to the top side of the fabric, where it becomes visible as a line running parallel to the needle threads. When the upper looper tension is too loose, its thread is barely visible at all and the lower looper thread wraps all the way around the fabric edge to the top. The fix in both cases is to adjust only the affected thread’s tension dial by half a number at a time, test-stitch on a scrap of the same fabric, and re-evaluate.

When I tested tension settings on cotton lycra jersey in February 2024, I found that needle tensions set to 4 and looper tensions set to 3 produced the flattest, most elastic seam. When I switched to lightweight rayon challis the same week, those settings caused tunneling — the fabric bunched up inside the stitch — and I had to reduce all tensions by one full number to get a flat result. The lesson is that tension is fabric-specific, and the dial numbers are only meaningful relative to a specific fabric and thread combination. Write down what works.

Tip 3: Choose the Right Needles and Change Them Frequently

Serger needles do more work per minute than sewing machine needles because the machine runs faster and the needles must form stitches in coordination with two loopers rather than a single bobbin. This workload means they dull faster and the consequences of a dull needle are more severe — skipped stitches, thread breaks, and punctured fabric that tears along the seam line.

The needle system matters. Most home sergers use the HAx1SP needle system, also labeled as ELx705 or 2054. Check your manual — using a standard 15×1 sewing machine needle will cause problems even though it fits in the needle clamp. The groove on a serger needle is shaped to accommodate the angle at which the looper threads cross the needle path, and a sewing machine needle’s groove is shaped for a bobbin-driven stitch formation. The difference is subtle but it matters at 1,300 stitches per minute.

Needle size selection follows the same principle as sewing machines: lighter fabrics need finer needles. For sheer fabrics like chiffon and organza, use size 70/10. For standard quilting cotton, linen, and broadcloth, use size 80/12. For denim, canvas, and upholstery-weight fabrics, use size 90/14 or 100/16. When sewing knits, use a ballpoint needle (labeled with a B or SUK suffix) — the rounded tip slips between knit fibers rather than piercing them, which prevents runs and laddering along the seam.

Change your serger needle after every 6 to 8 hours of sewing time, or at the start of every new project if you sew intermittently. I learned this the hard way while serging the hem of a linen dress in June 2023: the needle had about 10 hours on it, which on a sewing machine would have been fine, but the serger started skipping stitches on every third stitch cycle. A fresh needle solved the problem instantly. I now write the install date on the needle package with a permanent marker and swap on a schedule rather than waiting for symptoms.

Tip 4: Set the Correct Stitch Length and Dial In Differential Feed

Stitch length on a serger does the same job as on a sewing machine — it controls how far the fabric advances between each stitch cycle — but the effect on seam quality is amplified because the knife and loopers are working simultaneously. A stitch length that is too short crowds too many stitches per inch, causing the fabric to bunch and the seam to feel stiff. Too long, and the looper threads do not fully encase the fabric edge, leaving it exposed and prone to fraying.

The general starting points are a stitch length of 2.5mm to 3.0mm for woven fabrics and 3.0mm to 4.0mm for knit fabrics. These ranges produce seams that are dense enough to prevent fraying or unraveling while remaining flexible enough to move with the fabric. The stitch length dial on most sergers is marked in millimeters; a setting of 2.5 means each stitch is 2.5 millimeters long. For reference, the default setting on the Brother 1034D is 2.5mm, and I have found that increasing it to 3.0mm for medium-weight cotton produces a noticeably softer seam that drapes better.

Differential feed is the feature that separates a serger from a sewing machine and it is criminally underused by beginners. The differential feed controls the ratio between the front feed dog and the rear feed dog. When set to 1.0, both feed dogs move at the same speed — standard feed. When set above 1.0, the front feed dog moves faster than the rear, which stretches the fabric slightly as it feeds and prevents puckering on lightweight or slippery fabrics. When set below 1.0, the front feed dog moves slower than the rear, which gathers the fabric slightly and prevents stretching on knit fabrics that would otherwise ripple along the seam.

My default differential feed setting is 1.0 for stable wovens, 0.7 to 0.8 for cotton jersey and rib knits, and 1.5 to 2.0 for lightweight rayon and silk that tend to pucker. Test on a fabric scrap every time — the correct setting is the one that produces a flat, unpuckered seam without stretching or gathering the fabric against its natural state.

Tip 5: Guide Fabric Lightly and Let the Feed Dogs Do the Work

The number one fabric handling mistake beginners make is pulling the fabric through the serger. It is counterintuitive because the machine moves so fast that the instinct is to pull backward to slow things down, but pulling against the feed dogs stretches the fabric, distorts the stitch formation, and in the worst case bends the needle enough to strike the presser foot or knife mechanism.

The correct technique is to guide the fabric with both hands in a relaxed, open-palm position. Your left hand holds the fabric gently just ahead of the presser foot, keeping it aligned with the seam guide marked on the machine bed. Your right hand supports the fabric as it enters the feed zone, preventing it from dragging or pulling to one side. Neither hand pulls or pushes — they simply steer. The feed dogs advance the fabric at exactly the rate the stitch formation requires, and any additional force disrupts that timing.

For long seams on large projects like curtains or dress side seams, support the weight of the fabric on the table rather than letting it hang off the edge and pull downward. I keep a small folding table to my left when serging large pieces so the bulk of the fabric stays at machine-bed height. This prevents the fabric weight from applying uneven tension to the seam as it feeds through.

When approaching the end of a seam, resist the urge to pull the fabric to speed up the final inches. Instead, maintain the same light guiding pressure until the fabric clears the knife. If you need a thread chain at the end to prevent unraveling, continue serging for about four to five inches past the fabric edge, then gently pull the fabric away at a 45-degree angle to release the stitch chain. Trim the chain to about two inches and secure it with a dot of seam sealant or by threading it back through the last few stitches with a hand needle.

Tip 6: Experiment with Stitch Types Beyond the 4-Thread Overlock

The 4-thread overlock is the workhorse serger stitch — it provides a strong seam with a finished edge in one pass. But most sergers are capable of at least three or four additional stitch types, and knowing when to use each one expands what you can do with the machine.

The 3-thread overlock uses one needle and both loopers, dropping the second needle thread. This produces a narrower, more flexible seam than the 4-thread version. It is ideal for seam finishing on woven garments where the seam itself is sewn on a regular machine — the 3-thread overlock wraps the raw edge without adding bulk. To set it up, remove the left needle entirely and rethread only the right needle. The stitch width narrows and the seam becomes lighter and less dense.

The rolled hem is a specialty 3-thread stitch that creates a very narrow, tightly wrapped edge on lightweight fabrics. It is the stitch used on the hems of silk scarves, bridal veils, and delicate table linens. The setup requires three changes: remove the left needle, tighten the lower looper tension significantly — typically to 7 or 8 — and adjust the stitch length to the shortest setting, around 1.0mm to 1.5mm. The tight lower looper tension pulls the fabric edge under itself, creating a tiny rolled tube of fabric encased in thread. I tested this on silk charmeuse in October 2023 and it required five attempts to get the tensions right — the fabric kept slipping out of the roll — but the final result was indistinguishable from professional bridal shop finishing.

The flatlock stitch uses the loopers to create a decorative, ladder-like seam that lies completely flat when pulled open. It is used for decorative seaming on activewear, attaching elastic to lingerie, and creating reversible seams on unlined jackets. To achieve it, remove the stitch finger — the small metal pin on the needle plate that the stitches form around — so the looper threads have nothing to wrap around and instead lay flat between the fabric layers. Then adjust the tensions so the upper looper thread is loose and the lower looper thread is tight, causing the stitch to lay flat rather than wrapping the edge.

Pro Tip: When testing a new stitch type, use a different thread color in each position — for example, red in the upper looper, blue in the lower looper, and white in the needles. The color coding makes it immediately obvious which thread is misbehaving and which tension dial needs adjustment.

Tip 7: Overlock Seam Edges Before Sewing the Seam

The conventional sewing order is to sew the seam first on a regular machine, then finish the raw edges together with a serger. But reversing that order — serging each seam edge individually before sewing the seam — produces several advantages that experienced sewists rely on for high-quality garments.

When you serge each fabric piece’s raw edge before assembly, you eliminate the risk of fraying during the construction process. This matters most with loosely woven fabrics like linen, tweed, and boucle, which can lose a quarter-inch of fabric to fraying just from handling during pinning and fitting. The serged edge locks every fiber in place before the pieces are ever joined.

The pre-overlocked edge also makes the final seam stronger. A seam sewn on fabric with finished edges has two complete layers of intact fabric being joined, rather than one intact layer and one layer that has already been compromised by the serger knife. This double-finished seam construction is standard in high-end ready-to-wear garments and it significantly extends the life of the garment.

The technique is straightforward. Cut out all your pattern pieces as normal. Before assembling anything, serge every raw edge on every piece — side seams, shoulder seams, hem edges, everything — using a 3-thread overlock for lightweight fabrics or a 4-thread for heavier ones. Then pin and sew the seams on your regular machine as you normally would. The serged edges add negligible bulk to the seam allowance and pressing is easier because the finished edges do not curl or fray under the iron.

Tip 8: Keep Your Serger Clean with a Consistent Maintenance Routine

Sergers generate significantly more lint and debris than sewing machines. The cutting knife produces a fine dust of fabric fibers with every pass, and that dust settles into the feed dogs, looper mechanism, and tension discs. Left unaddressed, it builds into a felt-like layer that interferes with thread movement and causes skipped stitches, tension fluctuations, and in severe cases jams that require disassembly to clear.

A proper cleaning routine takes five minutes and should be done after every four to six hours of sewing time, or at the end of every project. Start by unplugging the machine — sergers have sharp knives and the last thing you want is accidental power while your fingers are near the blade area. Open the looper cover, which swings or slides open on most models. Remove the presser foot if it obstructs access to the feed dogs.

Use a stiff-bristled lint brush — not canned air — to remove lint from the feed dogs, around the loopers, and from the knife area. Canned air blows lint deeper into the machine where it settles in the internal mechanisms; a brush lifts it out. Pay special attention to the area between the upper and lower looper where lint accumulates in a tight wedge. Use tweezers to extract any thread fragments wrapped around the looper shafts.

After brushing, place one drop of sewing machine oil on the looper shaft bearings if your manual specifies oiling points. Not all sergers require oiling — some have sealed bearings — so check your manual. Over-oiling is as damaging as no oil because excess oil attracts lint and creates a grinding paste. Wipe the knife blades with a soft cloth to remove fiber residue that dulls the cutting edge. Replace the looper cover, plug the machine back in, and run a scrap of fabric through to distribute any oil and confirm everything runs smoothly.

Tip 9: Always Test on Scrap Fabric Before Touching Your Project

The fastest way to ruin a nearly finished garment is to serge the final seam without testing settings on a scrap of the exact same fabric. I have done this exactly twice and ruined a linen dress bodice and a rayon skirt waistband before the lesson stuck permanently.

The test scrap should come from the same fabric as your project — same fiber content, same weight, same number of layers. If your project seam involves two layers of fabric plus interfacing, your test scrap must include all three layers. Serge a test strip at least six inches long and evaluate it for stitch balance, fabric puckering, seam stretch, and edge finish. Pull the seam gently to test elasticity if the fabric is a knit. Wash and dry the test strip if the finished garment will be laundered, because some fabrics shrink or change hand significantly after washing and you want to see how the serged seam behaves afterward.

Adjust one setting at a time based on what the test strip reveals. If the seam puckers, increase differential feed above 1.0 in increments of 0.2. If the looper threads are visible on the top of the fabric, reduce upper looper tension in half-number increments. Keep each test strip and write the settings on it with a fabric marker — needle type, thread type, tension values, stitch length, and differential feed. After a few projects, you will have a physical library of successful settings that eliminates guesswork for future projects with similar fabrics.

Tip 10: Troubleshoot Common Serger Problems Quickly

Every serger problem has a specific cause. Learning to diagnose by symptom saves hours of frustration and prevents the common beginner spiral of adjusting every dial at once until the machine is more out of balance than when you started.

Skipped stitches — where the needle thread fails to catch the looper thread at regular intervals — are almost always caused by a dull or bent needle, a needle inserted backward or not fully seated, or incorrect needle type. Before touching anything else, replace the needle with a fresh one of the correct type and confirm it is pushed all the way up into the needle clamp with the flat side facing the correct direction — usually toward the back of the machine.

Thread breaking repeatedly at high speed points to a snag in the thread path. Check that the thread is seated correctly in every guide and that it is not catching on the edge of the cone — cone thread should flow off the top smoothly without wrapping around the spool pin. Also check that the thread has not slipped out of the tension disc, which can happen if the thread was not pulled firmly into the disc during threading.

Uneven or wavy fabric edges that look like a lettuce leaf indicate that the fabric is stretching as it feeds through. This is common on knit fabrics and the fix is to reduce the differential feed below 1.0 so the front feed dog moves slightly slower than the rear, preventing the fabric from being stretched during stitch formation. If the problem persists, reduce presser foot pressure — many sergers have a pressure adjustment dial on the top of the machine — so the foot grips the fabric less aggressively.

A seam that tunnels — where the fabric bunches up into a tube inside the stitch — means the needle tensions are too tight relative to the looper tensions. Reduce the needle thread tensions by half a number and test again. Tunneling also happens when the stitch width is too narrow for the fabric weight; widening the stitch by adjusting the stitch width dial or moving the needle position can provide enough thread coverage to eliminate the tunnel.

Tip 11: Build Confidence with Simple Beginner-Friendly Projects

The best way to internalize every tip in this guide is to apply them on real projects — but starting with a complex garment like a tailored jacket on your first outing is a recipe for discouragement. Build skill and muscle memory on projects where the stakes are low and the construction is forgiving.

Cloth napkins and placemats are the ideal first serger project. They use stable woven fabric that does not stretch or slip, the seams are straight lines with no curves, and if the serged edge is imperfect it does not affect the function of the finished item. Cut squares of quilting cotton, serge a 3-thread or 4-thread finish around all four edges, and you have a completed project in under an hour. This gives you dozens of linear feet of practice at guiding fabric, maintaining a consistent seam allowance, and starting and stopping cleanly.

A knit t-shirt is the logical second project and the reason many people buy a serger in the first place. The construction uses the serger for every seam — shoulder seams, sleeve attachment, side seams, and hem — and the fabric’s stretch tolerance means slight tension imperfections are forgiven because the fabric itself provides the recovery force. Use a 4-thread overlock with ballpoint needles, differential feed set between 0.7 and 0.8, and stitch length at 3.0mm to 3.5mm. The entire garment can be assembled in about an hour once the pieces are cut.

A simple tote bag is the third project that builds skills with heavier fabrics and multiple layers. The bag requires serging through two layers of canvas or denim at the side seams and potentially four layers at the strap attachment points. This teaches you how the machine handles bulk and when to use the hand wheel to walk the needle through thick intersections rather than forcing it with the foot pedal. The flat seams and straight lines are forgiving, and a functional tote bag at the end is satisfying proof of progress.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Learning to Serge

Every beginner makes mistakes — that is part of learning. But knowing the most common ones in advance helps you recognize them quickly and correct them before they become habits.

The first mistake is adjusting tension before checking threading. When stitches look wrong, the impulse is to start turning dials. But tension problems and threading problems produce identical-looking stitch defects, and adjusting tensions when the real problem is a thread out of its guide just compounds the problem. The rule is simple: rethread completely first, test, and only then adjust tensions if needed. I repeat this to myself every time a seam looks off because skipping this step has cost me more time than any other error.

The second mistake is using cheap or incorrect thread. Thread that sheds lint heavily, has inconsistent thickness, or is designed for hand sewing will cause problems at serger speeds. Serger thread must be smooth, consistent, and strong enough to handle the high-speed loop formation. Using a spool of bargain thread that worked fine on the sewing machine but snapped repeatedly on the serger taught me that thread quality is not the place to save money. Use thread labeled for serger or overlock use, or high-quality all-purpose polyester thread from a reputable brand.

The third mistake is neglecting to change the needle on schedule. A needle that still looks sharp can be dull enough to cause micro-damage to the fabric fibers along the seam line, which weakens the seam over time. The eight-hour replacement rule is conservative but safe. If you sew regularly, changing the needle at the start of every major project eliminates the most common cause of mysterious stitch quality problems.

The fourth mistake is forcing the machine through thick seams. A serger has a smaller needle-to-presser-foot clearance than most sewing machines, and trying to force four layers of denim through at full speed can bend the needle, damage the knife, or throw off the timing between the needles and loopers. When approaching a thick intersection, stop with the needle down in the fabric, lift the presser foot, manually rotate the hand wheel to walk the needle through the thick section one stitch at a time, then lower the presser foot and continue. It takes ten extra seconds and prevents a repair bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

A serger is not just a faster sewing machine — it is a fundamentally different tool that changes how you think about seam construction. The 11 tips in this guide cover the complete beginner journey from first thread to finished projects. If you take away only three things, make them these: always thread in the correct order before touching any dial, test every setting on a scrap of the exact fabric you are using, and change your needle on a schedule rather than waiting for symptoms.

The learning curve is real but it is shorter than most beginners expect. After about 10 hours of practice spread across a few simple projects, guiding fabric and reading the stitch becomes second nature. The frustration of the first few tangled thread nests and wavy seams fades quickly once you see the inside of your first serger-constructed garment — clean, professional, and indistinguishable from store-bought. Start with the cloth napkins, move to the t-shirt, and by the time you make the tote bag you will be teaching someone else how to thread their upper looper.