What is the Best Felting Machine? Embellisher Machine Reviews
It is a matter of time and efficiency. Hand sewing or even using a regular sewing machine to do felting is a time-consuming practice. That may use up time you do not have. To be efficient you need the right machines to do those jobs that take up a lot of time.
What is the best felting machine? The best felting machine is probably the one with the most needles. Some sewers liked the 7 needles Babylock and thought that was a great machine. Until the 12 needles Babylock was introduced.
To find the information on what is the best felting machine just continue to read our article. It reviews different machines and lets you know which one is the best outside of your preference. The more information you have the better your choice will be.
Felting Machine 101
What is An Embellishing Machine?
To put it simply, am embellishing machine is also known as a felting machine. The purpose of the device is to speed up the meshing of two fabrics together and save you a lot of time.
The machine can use 5, 7 or 12 needles to make two fabrics into one through its special weaving process. What the machine does is to help sewers who suffer from carpal tunnel or arthritis continue their hobby without adding any pain or stress to their bodies.
While you can buy patterns for some of the more advanced machines, usually the user has to create their pattern and manipulate the fabric to make those patterns a reality.
Wool and silk are the more popular fabrics used on a felting machine. The reason for their use is that the two fabrics can be melded together quite easily. Other natural fibers are also good to use on a felting machine.
There is a possibility that you can turn your regular sewing machine into a felting machine. All you have to do is buy the attachment that fits your sewing machine. Bernina has such an attachment and it should make your sewing life much easier.
How Does An Embellisher Machine Work?
When you do felting you are adding another dimension to your sewing project. That is because you are not using any thread to create the design. The needles do all the work for you.
The machine looks similar to a regular sewing machine but it does not have a bobbin or any thread. Instead, it uses 5, 7 or 12 needles to mold the two fabrics together. It does this by using barbs on the needles.
Those barbs catch the fibers on the upper fabric on their way down and then molds the fabrics together on their way back up. This is a very unique way to weave the two fabrics together.
The needles are housed inside a needle guard so your fingers are protected as you maneuver the fabric in the direction you need it to go in. With the foot pedal control, the machine moves as you press the pedal down.
While you are doing that, your fingers are moving the fabric to create the design you want to see. The key to using these machines is that you cannot use regular sewing needles. You have to use the special embellishing needles that are made to work with these machines.
How to Choose Your Embellishing Machine
There a few different felting or embellishing machines on the market and it may be hard to know which one to purchase. Getting a little advice helps clear up any confusion you may have and steer you in the right direction to a top felting machine.
Here are some tips to guide you:
- 1. Brand - you should go with a brand name that you trust already. If you like their other products you may still like their embellishing machine. Pfaff, Janome, Babylock all make good felting machines.
- 2. Price - this always has to be a consideration. These machines may cost a lot so make sure it fits your budget.
- 3. New or used - new is always best as you get a warranty and parts that are not already worn out. But if the price of a new one is too high consider a used felting machine that is in good condition.
- 4. Needles - they say that the more needles the better and faster the machine works. If speed is not a priority for you, you may have great success with a 5 needle embellishing machine. If it is, check out the 12 needle models and save yourself even more time.
- 5. Attachments - this is a good option especially when you do not have the money to buy a new or even a used machine. Getting the attachment lets you have the best of both worlds at your fingertips at less of a cost.
- 6. Construction materials - be careful of plastic parts. They may look good and may be all that you can get these days but if it is possible the more metal parts the better.
- 7. Warranty - read the fine print and know what is or isn’t covered. Also make sure you know how long the warranty is good for and what determines normal use. Manufacturers have a way with words to protect themselves and their bottom line.
Pfaff Embellisher Reviews - The 350p
This model is said to do it all. No matter your sewing project you have an all in one machine to handle it. The machine comes with 5 needles for felting and has its own finger guard to protect your fingers.
On top of that, there is an automatic needle setting function that saves you the time and trouble of getting your needles in the right position. If anything goes wrong with one needle it is not a problem to do the individual replacement.
In addition to those features, the presser foot on this machine has 3 adjustable positions. It works on the low, medium and high scale for settings. A free arm storage compartment helps you keep unneeded items out of your way till you need them.
New you are looking at somewhere around $350+ but you can get one used for $29. You read that right. Overall it is a good machine that handles your felting tasks like a pro.
Babylock Embellisher Reviews - The Embellisher
This felting machine started with 7 needles and as time passed the company upgraded that number to 12. The standard finger guard is present and makes sure you do not hurt yourself when sewing while not making it too tough to change the needles if anything goes wrong.
Also, the finger guard acts as a fabric presser making sure your fabrics get under the needles just right. Plus, it has a yarn port, yarn and ribbon stand to make sure you can be very creative as you use this top machine.
The yarn port handles yarn up to 4 mm thick and directs it through the machine directly to your needles. There is also a ribbon guide and it holds up to 10 mm thick ribbon. Those arms are easy to use and keep the ribbon from being tangled on its way to your fabric.
Also, this felting machine allows for free form sewing making your work a little easier as you go To get its cost you have to contact a Babylock dealer as the company doe snot place the price on their website.
Janome Embellisher Reviews - The FM-725
This is the felting machine many sewers are bragging about. It seems to cut their work down to size and saves them a lot of time. It also uses 5 needles and does about 900 punches every minute.
Along with its finger guard, you get an eye guard just in case some fibers get dislodged and make their way upwards. With the fast-rising needles that is always a possibility. Then the lint box is easy to clean making your sewing life a lot less troublesome.
The machine does come with a free arm giving you a little more flexibility as you work. Its lean design allows it to be stored away easily until you need the machine to handle some tough felting tasks.
With a cost of around $400, it may make you think twice before adding this machine to your sewing machine arsenal. Or you just may need to wait till you see a good sale by one of the dealers. Just be careful not all dealers advertise the same sale prices.
How to Use a Needle Felting Machine
The first step in this process is to decide what kind of design you want to make. Once that decision is over, you need to gather your materials, the fabrics that are, and make sure you have them in the proper order.
Next, plug in your embellishing machine and if your machine has the automatic needle placement system, use that to get your needles ready. Now, make sure the foot pedal is in a comfortable position and that it won’t walk away from you.
When everything is ready, press down on the foot pedal then maneuver your fabric to create the pattern you want on it. There may be patterns available to help you but do not always count on those options holding the design you want.
It is best if you can create the design yourself that way you do not lose any time looking for a compatible pattern. Some embellishing machines allow you to work free form so that is an option to keep in mind when looking for your new machine.
How to Convert a Sewing Machine Into a Felting Machine
Basically, any sewing machine can be turned into a felting machine. There are professionally made attachments that are ready to change your sewing machine into a felting machine.
You just have to remove certain parts before it can be adapted. The parts that need to come off are the presser foot, sewing needle, feed dog, metal plate and any other metal that will hit the felting needles as they move up and down.
But before we get to those, here is one way to make your own felting attachment and do the job for less money.
1. DIY Attachment
Items you need:
- Wine cork
- Sharp blade
- Vise grip
- Needle-nose pliers
- Wood glue
- Wooden mallet
- 2 to 4 felting needles
- Standard sewing machine needle
- Small washer
Instructions:
- 1. Cut the wine cork to 1/2 inch in length then glue the washer to the center of the wine cork.
- 2. Place the wine cork in a vise grip and take the regular needle and tap it through the center of the washer and only till you reach halfway into the wine cork.
- 3. Remove the wine cork and test it by using the handwheel to raise the needle bar to its highest position. Insert the needle and wine cork into the needle bar making sure the wine cork is tight against the needle bar.
- 4. Now remove the cork and place it right side up in your vise. Then holding the felting needles with a pair of needle-nose pliers, gently tap the felting needles one by one through the cork. The needles should be placed at the edge of the washer.
- 5. Test the needles to make sure they fit in the machine and can move up and down freely without hitting any metal.
- 6. Once that is done, remove the cork from the machine and glue the tops of the needles in place. Keep all the felting needles even.
That is it. Just re-install the cork into the machine and you are good to go. Once you make this adjustment you can’t go back to the regular sewing machine.
2. Attachments
As was stated in the previous section, once you change your sewing machine into a felting machine, you can’t go back to it being a sewing machine again. The change is permanent even with professionally made attachments.
1. FeltCrafts Needle Felting Adapter
This little device costs only $50 and it is secured to your sewing machine using an Allan wrench. It comes with 6 40 gauge felting needles attached and a complete set of instructions. You can find it here:
2. Halcyon
It looks similar to the one described above and goes on much the same way. Its cost is also the same as #1 so you are not saving anything by switching stores. You can find it on sale here.
It is important to remember to convert one of your older sewing machines and not place the adaptor on your expensive primary machine. While just about every sewing machine can be converted to being a felting machine, you cannot reverse the conversion.
Replacement Felting Sewing Machine Needles
Felting sewing machine needles are not impervious to bends, breaks, or other damage. There will be a time when you have to replace them in your felting machine.
Amazon has 3 options and they come in 5, 6 and 10 needle packs. Their prices are okay as each of the three packs have their price tag. It goes, $7.80, $12..94 and $14.95 respectively.
An online search revealed that you can find replacement needles just about anywhere. Both offline and online. The offline options include Joann, Michaels, Walmart and many other national chain stores.
The online options are even greater in number and you just have to pick the website that you like the best or have used previously. Then if you do not have those options available to you, check your local department store or fabric shop to see what kind they carry.
The Benefits Of Using a Felting Machine
Just about every machine brings some sort of benefit to your sewing hobby. The felting machine is not excluded from that club. Here are some benefits you get when you use one for your hobby:
- The machine unleashes your creative talent.
- The machine lets you be innovative and make great designs your family will be proud of.
- It opens the door to new sewing projects you can do.
- Adds color to your sewing project without extra work.
- The machine will save you a lot of time.
- It works with silk without ruining it.
- It helps build your confidence as you see your finished results.
Some Final Words
Doing felting is one way of making your sewing projects look even more professional. Especially when you turn to a top felting machine to help you out. If you do not have the money to buy an embellishing machine, you can always turn an older machine into one with a few minutes of your time and some DIY skill.
The vital piece of information you can’t forget is that the conversion is one way. The best felting machine will be the one with the most needles attached to it. As they say, the more the merrier.
