Hello Susie,
Very little to go wrong with a serger, it may sound silly but have you got the needle in the correct way round? is the needle pushed all the way up? is the machine making a thumping sound when you sew? this would indicate a blunt needle or there may be a small burr on the needle, if the needle is slightly bent this would also cause the machine not to make a chain.the chances are one of these is the cause, the very extreme would be a timing problem but I doubt very much it is that, check out the above, any one of these problems would cause the needle to be too far away from the hook so the thread would not be picked up.
drivewithken@blueyonder.co.uk
Ken
Ken Dourof, June 2007