Love On The Rocks – A Serger Update

Recently, I got a new-to-me serger.
Armed with lots of enthusiasm, and a solid working knowledge of sewing, and a dog eared manual, I got started.

There were trials and trials, and more trials.
I broke down, and rethread the one spool that was not engaging in the stitch.
That did not help.
So I regrouped and was brave enough to actually rethread the whole machine! Gasp! I did it! (As those of you who have one know, this is no joke. There are lots of little hidden holes to work the thread through. But I did it!) I figured it was a good learning experience regardless of it’s success.
Alas, there is still an issue.
The brown thread is still not engaging.

You can see here, it is not picking up, and incorporating into the stitch.

And the tension is not right in the best of the trials.

Not bad. But still missing one of the 4 threads. And the black is over the edge (meaning the white is pulling too tight on the other side.)

Now, I am at a standstill. And questioning my strategy. Do I have it threaded correctly?  How do I fix the tension issues? Is this a mechanical issue?

Next step: I am looking around for private lessons. I am not sure if I should have the machine serviced at a repair place, to make sure that it is not broken before the lesson. That would probably run about $100 – $200.  Is that worth it? The last post was “Which came first, The lesson or the serger?” This post is “Which is culprit, broken machine or user error?”