Simplicity Deluxe Felting Machine

i ordered this machine for a special wool appliqué quilt. the machine worked just fine for the project -- the price reasonable -- while it is a lightweight machine, it worked had the versatility which allows me to reduce the number of needles by easily changing them. a warning -- when you remove the head that holds the needles, do it over a magentized cup as one of the tiny screws bounced off table, and i lost it -- a trip to the hardware store got me a replacement... so be extra careful. I'd recommend it .....

I previously rated this machine with one star. Even as an experienced sewer/felter I broke all the needles and replacements were near impossible to find. Since then I have found replacement needles at allbrands.com and on etsy. I have had more luck. The tip is to go slow. I mean really slow. Never try to turn your fabric when the needles are down. I am having fun with the machine now but am still breaking needles. I have purchased about 70 of them in fear that they may not be available at all at some point.

I bought the machine a year ago and have used it quite a bit. The needles are difficult to change as there is no guide to ensure they're in the right place. It takes a LOT more fiddling around than it really should--very poor design. Now the foot pedal doesn't work and I can't seem to find a replacement for it anywhere. My understanding is that it is made by Brother, but neither the Simplicity.com website (which is what is listed on the box) or the Brother.com website recognizes the machine. I couldn't get it registered because they required a part number and there isn't one anywhere visible on the machine or on the box that the machine came in. It's an inexpensive machine, but I'm not sure it's worth the money if it isn't going to last more than a year. My sister-in-law has the very same problem with the one she bought. Clearly these machines are NOT made to last and there appears to be NO customer support.

The machine that I got was fine for the first 2 weeks I had it. After that, the foot pedal started malfunctioning. I thought that if I replaced the foot pedal it would start working properly. Now it won't even work even when I turn it on. I found out that it wasn't the foot pedal but the actual machine. I was so excited to use this machine. Now I'm extremely disappointed and are regretting my purchase. This machine was very new and I'm confused as to why it's malfunctioning so soon.

Although I'm used to the stardom of Bernina sewing machines, this little number took a while to get the hang of. It's simple, noisy and cheap but does the job. In fact, don't get too zealous or you'll punch a big hole in your project (part of the learning curve?). It is SO much quicker than the hand felting method, but it would be nice if it had a larger table surface.I was concerned because the packaging looked like it had been opened already and perhaps was rejected by someone else. The box sides were unglued and flopping around.Looking forward to future projects!

When I purchased this machine, it was $136.29. I noticed that the price has risen now to the same price it is on sale at JoAnn Fabrics. Still, for a 12 needle machine, and for a felting machine in general, this is a decent price over all.This machine makes short work of making a piece of hard felt from roving. One must be careful when moving the fibers you are felting slowly so as not to break the needles. After felting for about 10 hours, I did notice some metal fatigue from my needles and they started to break. My projects so far has been making felt for flower petals. I have been using Merino Top and New Zealand Corridale Top roving laid out in long feathered pieces of roving, rather than shorter wisps as one does for wet felting. The layers are still laid cross ways to each other and sandwiching different shades allows for a wonderful depth of color. The piece should then be refelted from the other side, then rinsed in hot water to help further mesh the fibers and get rid of the holes from the needles.Other artists use needle felting machines for needle felt painting and embellishing as well...other avenues I have not had time to explore! My suggestion is to stock up on needles, because they do break. For detail work, you will want to remove needles. Warning, those little screws can fly off of the angle wrench.Have fun!

I been using this machine for a few weeks now. I'm finding that it works very well. All it needed was surface protector dots on the feet to stabilize it in place for large blanket appliqués( 60x70"). It's terrific for creating new art fabrics too. You tube has many tutorial. Especially Christofer Nejman and Isabella Hoffman.

Generally, I like the machine. The needles need to be stronger-I've broken several. I don't use all 12 needles. For my current project, I'm using 2. Not great for large projects and they should provide replacement screws because you can easily loose these tiny screws while changing a needle. Not crazy about the way the designed the needle cradle. The screws are hard to access and align when changing.