This was my first serger, too, and I was a novice at even basic sewing when I bought it. Anyone who can't thread this and complains about it being difficult should NOT be sewing anything, period! They make the mall for people like you. Too many people think things should drop out of the box and assemble themselves and sew projects without human intervention... its ridiculous. Sewing takes time and effort people! This machine does take a little time to get used to threading (about an hour to learn - mine came with a video guide - she was annoying, but thorough), but there is a guide right on the front of the machine, and once you get it, you got it. Its a snap to thread after you (take the time to) learn. I actually bought a Singer Ultralock serger about a year after having this one and I never use the Singer, I think the White is better & easier! The adjustments are easy to make, the tension is NOT hard, I just think it is the best! I use it constantly and have owned it for a little over 3 years now. No problems here, I am upset that I wasted money on the Singer trying to improve on the White. The White won for me!

I specifically chose this serger because it was advertised for beginners. I didn't want a machine with all the bells and whistles, I had some industrial-type sewing to do, and chose this serger because it was basic and fast. Okay, so it's fast. However, I highly recommend that if you are a beginner, you DON'T buy this machine. I was having so many problems that I attempted to contact customer service/technical support. Haha! Three or four days later I got a response that began, "Dear Ms Kerr." I'm not Ms. Kerr. If she's reading this, the answer to her problems is that they're all her fault. The response I got did not address the questions I asked, and merely repeated what was in the rather inadequate manual. Oh, and I discovered the solution to one of the problems was to IGNORE one of the instructions in the "instructional" video (which was also very poorly produced). In short, unless you have serger experience and like threading and rethreading don't buy this serger.

I've owned this serger model for over a year now, and I love it. It's easy to use, not too complicated to thread, and a good price. I've used mine on nearly 100 different projects, and have had no problems. The trick is to sit down and figure out what you're doing on test pieces of fabric before using it on your final piece. That's what worked for me. Then you can figure out your tension and differential needs from there. With a little patience and practice, this machine is great. It comes with a video, which I must admit I've yet to watch. I probably would like it even more if I sat down and watched the video. (Sadly, it's a VHS instead of DVD- my only complaint.)

I have wanted a serger for years and finally got one.
The threading guide was helpful, but took forever (about 1 hour)
to do. Finally, I was able to use it...but had such difficulty
with the tension knobs. It was always either too tight or too loose. The tension control is really hard to operate and hard to get it right.
I am returning the machine and going to look for one with automatic tension controls. It will make my life easier. DO not get this machine if you do not want a headache with the tension knobs because it may also ruin your project.