In the former blogpost about the combo stitch, I promised you to share a trick to avoid converting the machine all the time. Here is the new blogpost ‘Tricks for combo stitch and undo chain stitches’.

The former blogpost is ‘Sew seams with the combo stitch on the L890‘. You will find information for the settings for the combo stitch.

Now, imagine, your BERNINA L 890 is set for the combo stitch that you used in a previous garment or poject. You are starting with a new project and you need to overlock some pattern parts first. Well, there is no need to convert the machine to overlock. My trick is to sew the single fabric with the combo stitch for each part that you need to overlock (that could be both the sides of a center back seam).  In this test I used Mettler Seralon sewing thread to sew.

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You can easily undo the chain stitch.

Unpick some stitches from the end of the seam (where you stopped sewing) on the top side of your work. If you forgot which side was the end, just try the other side if it doesn’t work.

Turn over the fabric and take the thread that makes the chain stitch.

Pull it away in the direction of the beginning of the seam. It works really easy. Then remove the top thread as well, it lays loose on the fabric.

Now you have a finished fabric with an overlocked edge.

Sew the seam.

You could sew the seam on the sewing machine, but probably all your spools in the right colour are on the combi machine. Do you want to continue with a chainstitch on the coverlock without overlocking and not converting the machine?

Cut the looper thread as pointed with the pencil.

Hide the knife with the knob on the left side of the machine. Be sure not to go too far right with the fabric, the loopers are still working! Don’t do this with bulky and loosely woven fabric.

Sew the seam, the overlock function will not work, because of the cut thread.

Guide the fabric along the left side of the hidden knife:

This is what the seam looks like when finished:

Rethread the looper thread after sewing the seam with the chain stitch.

It is the ‘red’ thread that you will have to rethread. And engage the knife too. You are set for the combo stitch again.

This trick helps a lot in saving time. You don’t need to convert the machine all the way when sewing with a combo stitch.

Do you think this trick is useful?