When you look at the seams inside your store purchased clothes, the edges are finished off with a locking stitch to keep them from fraying.

The machine that does that is called a serger. It can be used to finish off edges for pieces where the edge is going to be exposed for some reason too (appliques, for example.)

You lucky girl!

It finishes the edges of cloth so that a) it looks pretty and b) it doesn't unravel. There actually are ways to make it work like a sewing machine for certain projects. It's a different stitch - closer to a blanket stitch, and it doesn't zigzag in the same way that sewing machine stitches usually do.

They come in different sizes, some are actually smaller than most sewing machines. I suspect the images you were pulling up were of industrial models, though I could be wrong. Still, most of the home models aren't all that huge.

Lucky you - they're expensive. I think it's called an "overlocker" over here. It would be useful if you were going to go commercial!

Yeah, pretty much exactly -- major good luck for you. Sergers help finish seams, and they are fairly well mandatory for professional production-work sewing. 'Overlocker' is indeed a synonym that we sometimes use in Canada -- a popular brand is called 'Babylock' and 'Janome' is also well-regarded by my friends who have them (I, alas, do not).

Lucky for you, indeed! Happy sewing/serging/overlocking/using up big spools of thread....

Oh, no doubt about that, but from my understanding, those spools go fast! Whenever I see them at the Goodwill store down Seattle way I pick them up as gifts for the sergermaniacs in my family....

Ooh fun! A serger can be used to sew and finish seams simultaneously. It cannot replace all of a sewing machine's functionality, but it is a great adjunct.
As you feed your fabric to be seamed through the serger, if sews a seam and finishes the edge with the loopy over the edge sewing you see on a t-shirt seam. You may also remember t shirts and such for kids from the 70s where the edges were finished with that sort of loopy sewing in rainbow thread, designed to be seen.
Get someone who knows hwo to use it to show you, it can be daunting. Also, some models trim the edge as you serge, so if you're not careful it can shave half your fabric off.

Not scary. Pretty cool actually, but they take a bit of learning.

Uh, use it for sergery?

All I know is that it's considered very useful for making parachutes.

I have one in a box, that hasn't been used in five years, but I hear they are handing. I haven't done much sewing in five years either. Yes, it will give you professionally finished seams. I resisted getting one for a long time.. a friend..and member of the Sewing Guild said I HAD to have one because if anyone picked up the hem of my skirt and saw that my seams were unfinished I'd be embarrassed. I told her anybody checking the seams of my garment, unless it was my spouse, was going to get smacked.

She belonged to a group of persnickety sewing ladies who were always trying to one-up each other on sewing skills.

Wow-- congrats!
My friend Karen has a serger; she's used it for all the things described above as well as decorative kinds of sewing and for things like making cool jackets out of polar fleece with colored decorative seaming. I borrowed it from her for a while to try it out, and found it quite different from a standard sewing machine. Took some getting used to, and it was interesting. It seemed somewhat limited to me compared to a regular sewing machine, but it could do things you can't with a regular machine too.

I'd ask the shop if they offer any classes on learning to use the machine; they may offer at least a free training session with a machine purchased, and since you won it I'd think you'd be entitled. I found it much easier to learn with Karen right there giving me a run down and pointers. Don't know if I would ever have figured out some of the features by myself; a session with someone who knows what they are doing with it would be invaluable. :)

I've got a collection going for a serger... I've no idea when I will actually get one. I would love to add one to my collection. As others have said, it rounds out your sewing machines and adds some depth to the list of things you can do.

I bought a serger for $10 once at a garage sale, but I've lost the manual.

When you learn how to use yours, please teach me!

And holy cow: what a marvelous stroke of good luck! Yay, you!

Congrats! A friend has one and says it's handy for finishing seams and, in a pinch, sewing them (doesn't work on all seams). It uses a lot of thread, but it's very fast (I understand). Hers takes up about half the space her sewing machine does.

Something that should be kept far away from your electronics.

That's why they all have serge protectors.

Hmmm ... and here I thought a serger was a type of neatherdrake that lived in your house and ate socks.

Oh well, back to reality

Good God--what a spectacular entrance into the world of sewing!!! Congratulations! :)