Using my serger for the first time

I bought a Juno serger after Christmas this year with money I received for Christmas.  I have been wanting to sew knits and other things and truthfully I just wanted a serger.  Well I played with it a little bit after I got it in January then I lost my sewing mojo and didn't use it again until now.

This morning I pulled it out and after fiddling with it awhile I finally got the hang of it.  I think I mis-threaded it the first time and that was the problem I was having.  After solving that, the serging went smooth and I made my first serging project also my first recycle/refashion experiment.

I started with this old dress (does anything scream 90s more than this).

Add to the dated look of the dress is the fact that it's a size 18.  In 2006-07 I went from a size 18 to a size 6 by doing Weight Watchers.  I have since put back on some weight (I'm a 8-10 RTW).  I'm not sure why I was holding on to it, but now I'm glad I did.

First I removed the buttons - I may can use them.

Then I cut off the skirt and cut it into 12.5"x12.5" squares. I serged the edges and there you have it - quick fabric napkins.  We try to use fabric napkins as much as possible and ours are starting to wear out, so this is perfect timing.

But the fun didn't end there.  I bought some green and tan check fabric from the remnant bin yesterday at Walmart for the purpose of making napkins, so why not serge them up too.  So from 7/8 yard I made 6 12.5 x 12.5 napkins and then 6 6 x 6 and 4 5.5x5.5.  The smaller ones work great for the kids. 

Now I'm off to start my messenger bag and back to the sewing machine.