1034D Serger Overlock Sewing Machine

Love this Brother serger. Super easy to work with. Low noise level and one of the easiest sergers to thread. .Great quality and reliable due to it’s heavy-duty metal frame it’s the best money I’ve spent!

I think if you're looking at this machine, you're either a) new to serging or b) impressed by the price and interested in the quality. I'm completely new to sergers, but I did my homework before buying this one, and for the price and the performance, this serger has a perfect balance. I was also concerned about being able to figure out how to use it on my own (so many people talk about taking a class) but within a day I felt like I knew it inside and out. It's setup is uncomplicated and I was able to get right to work. There's something to be said about passing over the machine that can "do it all" and buying one that just does what you need. 1) The "how-to" videos are wonderful for the visual learner. You can pick up the same knowledge from the thorough instruction book(s) included, but the videos reinforce the book. Watching the video on "threading" once, and following the line drawings on the machine itself, I was able to thread the machine in 5 minutes. (It's really not that hard - it's all color coded and the steps are numbered, but the videos help) 2) Included are two additional feet, one for a blind hem/flatlock and another for gathering ruffles as you sew. Together, they themselves are an $60 value. The feet are "snap-on" (when I read about that online I instantly thought of breakable plastic, but the feet are primarily metal with some plastic pieces on the blind hem foot) - the "snap-on" construction is very easy to use and solid (i.e. nothing is going to snap OFF over time) 3) It's very easy to set the tension and the manual has a very clear chart on troubleshooting uneven stitches (with 4 threads, there are multiple things that can be off with the tension). 4) The company description says that it does 22 stitch functions, which I think is a little misleading (it does the basic stuff and they show different applications for the basics). THIS IS WHAT IT DOES: 1. 3/4-thread overlock (uses 4 threads; best for use with knits or upholstery fabric) 2. 3-thread overlock (general use) in two widths - 3mm (using only the right needle) and 5mm (using only the left) 3. Rolled hem (great for edges of napkins, pajama bottoms, frilly skirts, etc) 4. Flatlock stitch (decorative or flat seams) 5. Blind hem THIS IS WHAT IT DOESN'T DO: 1. Coverlock stitch (stretchy stitch with two straight lines on the front of the fabric). If you're sewing for yourself (i.e. not selling what you make), you can fake this stitch on your regular zigzag sewing machine with a twin needle. It's not quite the same, but close enough for me. 2. Chain stitch (a semi-straight stitch, similar to a regular sewing machine but easier to rip out (i.e. good for basting) and a good reinforcement for upholstery) Other sergers I looked at that did the coverlock stitch in addition to overlock, etc. had complicated and time consuming adjustments to be made to switch to the coverlock. If you're going to use it a lot, consider getting a separate machine that does it (the Brother model is 2340CV). The one feature the 1034D is missing for me is the ability to do a 3-thread overlock and a chain stitch at the same time - good for upholstery but something available only on a 5 thread machine. 5) Nice little things: 1. You have the option of using regular thread spools (cheaper and smaller if you don't need 1000 yards x 4 of whatever color you're buying) 2. You use regular needles - so you can use them in both your regular sewing machine and your serger 3. It's really easy to control speed with the foot pedal - very responsive 4. Disabling the knife (that trims your fabric as you sew) is done with just the flick of a switch 5. Differential feed allows you to sew any thickness of fabric, line up stripes evenly, etc.

I can't believe how simple this machine is to work with - everyone seems to think a serger is a mysterious machine - nope - the process is simple and if you think about the process of threading you will come to understand how the machine forms its weave. The instruction is straight forward for threading. Broke a needle within a short time, reloaded with new needles - that was a bit tricky for me - almost 74 and with arthritis and bent fingers... but I am working a workaround imitating a needle holder for 2. I had the machine sewing almost immediately after unboxing, once I loaded my stock spools of serger thread it was no looking back. It comes with four colors of thread preloaded - good for teaching and understanding stitch patterns. I have no fear of the machine 'breaking' it's solid. just don't dump it off the table or drop or crush it I mean! The mast is a bit iffy for solidity but if you are a mindful sewist this will present no problem - Buy one or sit wondering about all the wonderful things you 'could do'. Just BUY IT and DO. For the price I kick myself for not having bought one years ago!

Have owned this serger for two years and have had no major issues with it. At first, I was intimidated by the idea of buying a serger, but I promise it's really pretty simple to use and even changing out the thread is easier than I expected. For the price, you can't beat the value! Before purchasing a serger, I used a very expensive Baby Lock Ovation at a sewing workshop. Was it good? Of course, but it also retailed for around $6,000. For under $200, I've used the Brother 1034D several times a week, and have not experienced any repair issues or malfunctions. Don't be afraid to purchase a serger online. I know lots of seamstresses will suggest buying one from a local dealer to get customer service and repairs, but for such a low price - you really can't go wrong. None of the Brother sewing machines I've owned have ever needed to be serviced or have broken. While I know the serger has many functions, I have solely used it as a 4-thread overlocker - which is why I bought it in the first place. I find it to be a bit of a hassle to constantly convert and change a sewing machine. Brother products are so affordable and I personally have found the quality to be great - especially when considering the price. Adding the Brother 1034D Serger to my sewing machine arsenal has been one of my most useful purchases. Some tips I can offer to help avoid frustration: -Always test out scrap fabrics that are the same as the project you're working on -The different settings including differential feed, stitch length, and stitch width - play around with them using scraps and keep a notebook handy to record which settings worked best with various fabrics as a reference guide -Make sure the presser foot is down before you start to serge - this may seem kind of common sense, but I've accidentally serged with the presser foot up more times than I'd like to admit!

I am a novice to the serger but I have sewn for a very long time tho in no way an expert, moderately skilled I’d say and I often don’t understand many parts of sewing machines and most certainly before I purchased, nothing about serving except that I am short and always have to hem and slim bottoms of pants and like a nice finished look on seams. And let it be known that I have not attempted threading yet except for the needles but have watched many videos...not the one included as I read it’s old and not very good!....and am confident I’ll not have too much trouble. Tho that’s yet to be determined! I’m working on learning tensions and settings for different materials and writing them down so as not to have to trial and error them again. I find that the most confusing part of any machine. My reg machine is auto set which I love. I also found some helpful online Videos regarding this. I love that it came already threaded with different color threads and a practice piece done so you can see what it’s supposed to look like. The cutter works fabulously and love that. One thing missing is how to remove the threads to put new ones on but I also found something good about that from a person who went to a serger class. I did oil the machine first tho found the diagram of what to oil confusing as as beginner to those parts, again online video helped. Loved the blind hem stitching tho initially had a little trouble with it as it’s a little different from a reg machine but once I realized that from a video it was easy and looks awesome! Tho still need some practice with. If you’re a beginner I think practice is key first. I’ve spent a week researching watching videos and has helped tremendously. I also got my handy labeled out and labeled all the parts, also helpful. This is a perfect serger for me and I love it! Update...I have threaded this machine quite a few times now, most successfully and it’s really not hard at all, all color coded. I’m finding the hardest part is getting the right tensions for different fabricsI. finally after working on that all day, am happy with the ones I managed to get for most fabrics I’d be using. My advise when you do find them if you’re able is to snap a picture of it, I printed these out but if no printer can just keep on your phone and use the markup feature to label. I have a printer and I taped a piece of the fabric onto each of the pic of those settings, adding the other settings like diff feed etc to it.

OVERALL COMMENTS: 1. The machine runs smoothly, without too much noise. 2. The guts of the machine all appear sturdy/solid; some of the superficial plastic parts scare me a little because they look like they could break easily. In particular, the extendable thread guide (thread tree) on top of the machine. 3. The machine arrived, ready to use. This was a nice benefit because it allows you to try it out instantly. Everything was well packed. 4. The fact that it uses regular sewing machine needles and thread is a plus in my mind; save money in not having to stock up on multiple sets of accessories. Note, however, that due to the differences between a serger and a regular sewing machine, there will probably be instances where you want to buy different threads for each machines, depending on the specifics of your project. 5. The machine comes with a number of nice accessories, manuals, and instructional videos. I found the manuals and videos are OK, but not great. More about that below. NOTE: The videos DO NOT work on my MacBook Pro, but I was able to view them on someone else's PC. The rest of this review is for those, like me, who have never used a serger before. Like many other reviewers, I've thought about getting one for years, but was intimidated by them (they looked so complicated). Also, they were quite expensive. I would classify my sewing skill level as just beyond beginner. On top of that, I've only recently taken it up again after not doing any sewing in maybe 10 years. The biggest frustrations I've had with my 10-15 year old Singer clunker are a) finishing hems easily and with a professional look b) sewing knits. So, I decided to check out the serger market, and was surprised to find one in this price point, and with encouraging reviews from other novices. So I decided to give it a try. I've had mine for about a month now, and other than experimenting with it, I've completed one garment. I love the ease of use as well as the results. This did not happen without some pain, however. But I believe you learn more from your mistakes than from anything else, so I feel better for having gone through that. The first thing I did when I received the machine was untangle the threads (I left the machine threaded, I just worked the thread from the spool side of things). I looked through the videos and the manuals I did a couple of practice runs (without changing any of the settings) on a piece of basic cotton fabric; everything was great! Then I made what might be considered a mistake to some: I went from there to trying to do a rolled hem on a very thin, gauzy fabric. I created quite a mess, the threads got tangled, the results weren't right, and of course, the thread kept breaking and I had to rethread many many times. I got quite frustrated as I kept referring to the manuals and the videos, but just couldn't figure it out. Then I went to the internet for help. What a life saver! In particular, a video on You Tube called "Threading a Brother 1034D Serger" by "ArtistkaeSewing" who made this video specifically because the Brother instructions were so difficult to follow. This saved my day! I actually had to re-thread many times until I got all the adjustments right for the rolled hem, so while that was frustrating, I am now a pro at threading the machine from all the experience I gained. In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to work with a fine fabric and a special stitch for my very first project. : ) I also recommend a book called "The Complete Serger Handbook" by Chris James. I find it fills in many many gaps in my knowedge (since I am a beginner to serging) and it does so in a very easy to follow format with lots of great illustrations. Here are a couple of other tips from someone who learned the hard way: 1. I didn't pick up on any instructions anywhere on where to line up your fabric while sewing. It may be there, but I just never noticed. Unlike my regular sewing machine which has a guide line labeled "5/8" - the serger just has some subtle slightly raised lines in the plastic area in front of the needle ... with one of these lines thicker than the others. That's what you want to use. 2. I didn't realize that my thread tree was not fully extended which I unpacked it. For sewing on regular fabric, it didn't seem to make a difference. But when working on the rolled hem on the gauzy material, I believe this was one of the main reasons why my thread kept breaking. Maybe these tips will save someone out there some frustration. Overall, I'm very happy with it. I know enough to use it for basic functionality; I will just have to learn the other features as I go. I'm glad to have one successful project under my belt to boost my confidence. I am glad I bought it! I feel I can now bring my sewing skills (and results) to the next level.

This is a really wonderful machine, the threading is very well explained and in fact, dare I say, simple. The lever to engage or disengage the cutting blade is instantly accessible, as are the other adjustable elements. Even the differential, so scary automotive sounding, is an easily accessible knob adjustment with explanations in the manual. After watching videos on several other makes of serger I really appreciate these above-mentioned features not available in other sergers. Brothers 1034D is the best, even better than Brothers 1034DX.

I have been intimidated for years about buying a Serger machine. My first hurdle was the high price but after finding the 1034D along with it's great customer feedback and very affordable price offered by Amazon, I was able to overcome that hurdle. My second intimidation was mostly that serger machines looked complicated especially the threading portion. Well, I wasted all those years bogged down in my own -- unwarranted -- intimidation. The Brother 1034D 3 or 4 Thread Serger was easy to use RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. I appreciated that it came pre-threaded so that I could practice a little before I had to try to thread the machine on my own (be forewarned -- the included thread does not last long). As I understand the world of sergers, this is a very simple machine and therefore only does some of the basic functions (4-thread serging, 3-thread serging, blind stitching, etc.). It will NOT sew a regular seam while sergering the edge concurrently (apparently you need a 6-thread, or larger Serger). For my purposes, this machine is perfect. My only complaint lies not with the machine itself; but with the instructional DVDs (I did not let this complaint carryover into my 5 star rating). I could find no way to make the video expand to full screen so I had to tried to 'squint' my eyes to try to see some of the necessary details of threading. Rather than try to learn how to thread this machine by using the included DVD, let me recommend a VERY good YouTube video (by Candice Ayala) that did a much better job of showing you the up-close detail of threading the machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ1ycPZTdOo&list=PLRYJimUvBQAKzLmBMx8QPiGdW-HQ112Xa&index=1 I also took her recommendation to label the machine (see her video). I have only had this machine for less than a week but have been putting it through the paces. I had to rethread the machine almost immediately but was able to do it fairly easily and correctly the first time I tried (again, thanks to Candice's video). It has performed flawlessly and has transformed my projects from looking untidy to looking professionally finished which is important to me. I can also feel reassured that my projects will not continue to unravel. While the included DVDs are too small to pick up on small details, I would still recommend that you watch both DVDs as they do offer so good suggestions (like how to finish off at the end of a seam).

Excellent product

Es muy bonita original, pero, no es la que quería.. Quería la 1034DX por eso la devolví y pedí mi reembolso la regrese al otro día y son hrs qué aun no me dan mi reembolso?? 🤦🏻‍♀️ Que me han dicho en las llamadas se han atrasado por devolución de otras compras y de otras personas? si necesito por favor mi devolución de los 5,965.. muchas gracias!

She is perfect!🤍

Great fun to use and a great choice if you want to try out a serger. Have used it for small projects and it is easy to set up and use. Threading looks intimidating but it is pretty easy -- just follow the instructions in the manual or the references on the machine. After using this, I don't think I would bother with an automatic threading machine - manual threading is not a problem. I love the rolled hem operation -- you remove the left needle, remove a finger in the mechanism, set the settings, and go; I love the finished stitch as it can almost look like piping, depending on your thread. Thread tension is easy to set and the settings hold -- have had no problems with thread tension. A great little machine and completely meets my needs for crafting and men's shirts. Highly recommend all Brother machines - while I collect and use vintage machines, Brothers are my go-to when I want to focus on getting things done without having to fiddle with vintage character and quirks.

After researching overlockers on line, this model got the best rating overall for people just starting out with overlockers. I can't claim any great expertise, but this is a great machine. It is simple to operate and, most importantly, to thread, as this seems to be the biggest problem most people have. It comes with a very clear operating manual which covers all the important points and, even better, a DVD which actually demonstrates how it all works. Early days for me, but so far, I have managed to successfully accomplish basic sewing and have easily rethreaded the machine. It has a lot of features which are going to be very useful as I gain experience. I am not currently using it to its full potential, but that is down to my limitations, not those of the machine. I would recommend this overlocker to anyone who wants a foolproof basic machine.