AUTHOR ON CUTTING EDGE OF SERGING

Cindy Cummins sewed an overlap stitch for a laptop computer keyboard rest.

Some of the children's wearable art outfits sewn by Cindy Cummins.

Serger needles and blades function with precise timing, rapidly producing in the home sewing room finished products that rival ready-made.

Cindy Cummins' timing has proved impeccable, too.

Her book, "Serge Something Super for Your Kids," was published in January.

With her infant daughter, Allyce, as the catalyst, Cummins, eight years ago, decided to follow her instincts and do what she enjoyed best.

"I wanted to be working at home and spending time with my daughter," said Cummins, who operates her multi-faced business from her Perryville home.

Armed with a love of sewing, which had been inspired in her preteen years, and a bachelor of science degree in clothing and textiles, she left a job far removed from the sewing industry and soon became involved in a market that has seen dramatic gain within the last few years.

While crafting clothes for others out of her home, Cummins noticed something new in the sewing shops.

"I was starting to see sergers in stores," she said. "I really didn't know what they were."

Sergers, which trim the fabric edge and overcast the edge all at the same time, were once used exclusively in the manufacturing industry.

After a little investigation, Cummins recognized the potential of the scaled-down serger in the home sewing room. "I just knew this was something that was really going to change the sewing industry," she said.

And, Cummins has been among those leading the way.

She quickly acquired serger training from top-names in the sewing industry and began conducting serger workshops in the St. Louis area where she made her home. Pattern development expressly for sergers soon followed. The idea for a book was a natural progression. She moved to Perryville four years ago.

Easy-to-read instructions in "Serge Something Super for Your Kids," led the reader through some 40 serger-based projects. Step-by-step illustrations, color photographs and lots of full-size patterns are features of the book.

Chapter subjects include fun clothes for boys and girls, Halloween costumes, popular toys and gifts for children from infant on up and much more. Cummins even discusses the basic uses of the serger and provides instruction for the "top 10" serger construction techniques.

The designs and instructions are original by Cummins. Projects in the book range from simplistic for the first-time serger users to somewhat advanced, she said.

Cummins got in on the ground floor of a market that has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, particularly in the last four or five years.

"People are getting back into sewing and crafts. This cuts their time and gives them a beautiful, professionally finished product," said Jane Koch, who works at The Golden Needle II in Cape Girardeau. "We're seeing a boom" in the serger market, she said.

Sergers cut average sewing time in half, those acquainted with use of the machines say.

"Some things take longer to cut out than to sew on the serger," Koch said.

With increased demand has come intense product development. Sergers available today "are a lot easier to understand and a lot easier to thread than the first sergers that came out on the market," said Doris Koeberl, co-owner of The Sewing Basket in Cape Girardeau. Beginning price for a serger usually ranges around the $300 mark and continues into four digits.

Sergers don't take the place of conventional sewing machines, but rather work in tandem with them, those who use sergers say. Sergers don't tackle button hole construction, top stitching, traditional zipper installation and the like.

But sergers do eliminate the need for seam finishing, such as zig-zag stitching, because they trim and overcast the seam all in one step. That time-saving element as it relates to basic stitching alone makes the machine worthwhile, Cummins said.

Yet, it is the versatility of the serger that is the real draw, she contends.

"People who think they are not creative become creative very quickly," she said.

Most sergers can produce a variety of stitches, typically involving two to four cones of thread in each stitch. Roll stitches, and other classic touches like those often found on drapery and crafts as well as designer clothing are easily produced with sergers.

Garments and other items cut from conventional patterns can be stitched on the serger with ease. Pattern companies are starting to include serger technique information on their standard patterns, Cummins said.

Cummins said her "A Coat in a Day" pattern was the first developed specifically for a serger. It continues to be her top-selling pattern.

While she continues to teach serger seminars in states across the country, Cummins' main focus is on writing about the serger projects she develops. She is already planning a new book.

Though her name has become recognized nationally and her business expanded proportionally, Cummins, who also has a 3-year-old son, continues to enjoy working from her home.

Perseverance and a healthy dose of good fortune have been key to her success, she says. Her advice? "Never give up, even when you feel like it."

Cummins' book is published by the Chilton Book Co. and is available in sewing, craft and fabric shops and in bookstores.