Simplicity Deluxe Felting Machine

 (6 customer reviews)

Years ago I purchased a felting adapter for one of my old sewing machines. Installation was difficult and I never was really happy with how it worked. It was an expensive mistake. I had known about dedicated felting machines but never considered getting one because they were so expensive. There's a Janome felting machine here on Amazon that sells for about $300. That's more than I wanted to spend.

I first saw this machine last month when I went to the annual sewing expo. Simplicity had a booth there and I got a chance to "test drive" it and found it very easy to use. The machine retails for $250 and they had a "show special" of $185 and I bought one. I wish I had waited because it is $50 cheaper here on Amazon. Oh well. I'm still happy with the machine though. It is very light weight but handles the work well. There is a (short) learning curve when first learning how to use this type of machine. You have to move your work-piece around slowly or you will break your needles...Read more

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...Read more

I purchased the Simplicity felting machine at JoAnns mostly due to the price as I was unsure if I would be successful at machine felting. I love the machine, it does exactly what it states it will do and I have had no problem with it to date. I have made four projects over the past two weeks with no issues. I will state the light on the machine is not very bright so I added additional light to see my work, other than that the machine works great. Coming from a quilting background I find this a refreshing change in crafting and look forward to making more projects with the machine.