I just got a new serger!!! And I'm currently using it on everything I can, including this year's cosplay and Fairwear. I am making an 18th C. shift for a Hobbit costume, and would love to replace my typical hand-sewn French seams with serged ones, but those underarm gussets are going to take some planning ahead. I have not done a whole terrible lot of them to begin with, so I don't have tons of muscle memory and practice to rely on here.
Anyone have tips for this?
Gramercy!!
Attach gusset to upper side of the sleeve on one side. It should look like a big rectangle with a square attached at the top. Take the bottom of the gusset, and match it right sides together to the other side of the sleeve. The "free" bottom corner should be matched with the top of the other side of the sleeve. Sew the entire seam down. You have a sleeve!
As for sergers - mine last 24 hours around me. I should get it fixed but it's been almost two years now....
Excellent! It worked brilliantly, with much less bulk at the Y seam than my hand-sewn versions... and a far nicer finish, overall, than machine French seams. So. For a fairwear smock, I definitely recommend it!
I serge mine, and find they go very quickly! I really like using them on trouser seams, because some of the material I use on trouser is a coarser weave, and tends to fray at the inside seams. The serger fixes that right up!