Course Description: Sewing with a Serger

Sergers are incredibly useful for sewing but can be frustrating to master. These machines trim raw fabric edges and simultaneously weave a clean and professional-looking seam finish around them. A serger supplements your regular sewing machine and is indispensable for sewing stretch knit garments. But moving blades, complicated threading diagrams, four separate tension settings and all those other dials can be intimidating. In this course, each aspect of a serger use will be explained, step-by-step, allowing sewists to serge with confidence and bring their sewing projects to the next level.

As the class covers the use of basic mechanical sergers, the students must bring their own serger so they can become familiar with the machine they will be using at home. Your serger must be in good working order. This class is designed to teach you how to operate and gain confidence using your serger, not to repair or restore machines that have mechanical issues or have been sitting unused for years. If your machine is missing parts, has known mechanical problems, or is not functioning properly, it may prevent you from fully participating in class.

The instructor has two sergers available at no additional cost for students who do not own a serger or whose machine is not in working order. These machines are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to reserve one, you must notify Community Education at the time you register for the class. Once the two loaner machines have been reserved, students will need to bring their own functioning serger.

Course Details: (seats remaining)

Schedule:

Every day, starting on 11/07/26 and ending on 11/07/26

Times:

10:00am-03:00pm PST

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Price:

Class Price : $139.00

Additional Course Information

Along with the serger, students should bring:

Pedal and power cords for their machine
Owner's manual (if available)
Spare needles
Four cones of serger thread
Scissors
Long tweezers with an angled tip
Glasses or magnification devices for close-up work, if needed
Snacks, if desired

Instructors

Name

Additional Resources

Danielle Thalman

Biography: Danielle Thalman was taught how to embroider flowers on handkerchiefs as a young girl, but pivoted to making "custom" garments with her hand-sewing needle and fabric scraps at age 6. She began using her mother's old black Singer sewing machine--without permission or supervision--at age nine, and shortly afterwards produced her first (somewhat) wearable garment. Junior High brought formal instruction from a beloved Home Economics teacher and then her first own machine, a Kenmore that she still has. After studying Journalism in college, Danielle worked as a reporter at a community newspaper in Northern California. There she met her husband Mark, a photographer and avid outdoorsman. They moved to Southern Oregon with their young daughter in 1996, and Danielle embarked on a career in public school teaching. While she has climbed and flyfished extensively in the West, her love of the outdoors has always been balanced with quiet time inside learning more about sewing and other textile pursuits, like hand dyeing and screen printing.Danielle sews custom bags for the Central Oregon based business, "Rhino Skin Solutions," as well as making artsy chalk bags sold in climbing gyms. She also quilts. But she remains primarily a garment sewist, making everything from her own jeans, t-shirts and swimwear to jackets, flannel shirts, leotards, leggings, socks, hats, long underwear and even leather shoes. After retiring in 2020, Danielle and her husband moved to country property north of Redmond and spent the pandemic fixing up a home with plenty of hobby space. Sewing has always been about connection for Thalman, who delights in sewing sessions with her daughter, niece and friends. So it was only natural that after the isolation of the pandemic, Danielle met up with a local group, Central Oregon Serger and Sewing Machine Rescue-Rehab-Rehome. There she found her niche fixing sergers, learning as she went along and gaining a rich sense of purpose and camaraderie working with the other volunteers in the group and members of the community."The project not only keeps machines out of the landfill, it gives people the opportunity to reuse and recycle textiles and minimize the purchase of wasteful garments with short life spans. On top of that, the creativity of sewing is, for many, a way to replenish our personal reserves," said Thalman.While she has owned and used sergers for more than 40 years, repairing them has inspired an understanding and appreciation for the machines that Thalman is excited to share.

Facility Detail

COCC Redmond Campus Building 3

RDM3 305

2030 Southeast College Loop

Redmond, OR 97756

Cancellation Policy

Students must cancel by contacting our office via phone: (541) 383-7270 or email: ceinfo@cocc.edu. Cancellations received 5 days prior to the start of the class will receive a full refund. Full refunds are also issued for classes cancelled by COCC. Refunds will be issued back to your card or in the form of a check and mailed within two weeks of the cancellation date if paid by check or cash. Failure to participate in a course or program does not result in a refund. Exceptions to the general refund policy are noted in the course descriptions on our website and in the printed schedule. If you have any questions, please call us at (541) 383-7270.