Is the Vivilux Laser light worth the money? Plus a helpful attachment tip
If you’re wondering whether the Vivilux laser is worth its price, or if it’s ACTUALLY useful in the sewing room…Read on to see how I put it to the test and found it quite handy. You can read OR watch the video below.
Some links in this post may be affiliate links. I will earn a small commission if you purchase after clicking an affiliate link. I will only lead you to products and sellers that I have used and liked. 🙂
You know how sometimes you see a product and think “Ooh! I need that!”
That was the reaction I had to the Vivilux Laser.
AND I’m going to tell you the problem I had with it AND the simple solution I found to make it work perfectly for sewing or machine embroidery.
About the Vivilux Laser System
This is the Vivilux Laser System by Harbor-Sales and it’s designed for sewists like us. Vivilux is a small business run by Dave and Abby, and I recently met them at the h+h Americas trade show in Chicago.
They were kind enough to give me a laser to test. But as you’ll soon see – I’m still giving an honest opinion because that’s just what I do. I’ve also found some creative uses I’ll show you later on.
The laser unit is wireless and rechargeable – using a USB connector. I love the recharging cable because I hate using disposable batteries all the time. They also have different plugs for different countries because this is sold internationally.
There are 3 different brass heads and each one gives a different shape to the laser. You can use a point (dot), a line, or crosshairs as shown in the photos below.
To get the different patterns, you screw on the brass head that’s marked with the pattern you want. In the video, I demonstrate uses for all 3 of these patterns, starting at the embroidery machine.
Machine Embroidery Needle Position
My first impression of this was “how cool, now I can have laser needle position on my single needle, just like the one on my multineedle.” And yes, you can do that.
But then I realized that’s not actually useful. I mean, I can turn my handwheel and see where the needle position is. It’s different on a multineedle because you can’t tell which of those needles are going to stitch. But on the single needle it’s not that useful during embroidery.
UNLESS you’re doing free-motion embroidery or quilting and then it’s VERY useful. That little laser dot really helps me see where I’m stitching.
Positioning Trick
For Machine Embroidery, the laser is most useful when we position things in the hoop, especially if you like to float on top of the stabilizer. (tip: the process is easier to understand when watching the video)
- Put the laser on the table. I raised it higher with an empty canister.
- Position the laser to line up with your design template.
- Then remove the template and place a sticker in the center of the laser crosshairs. Remove the garment.
- Now line up the laser with the markings of your hoop. Here’s a tip -that hoop is going to slip around so use some tape or tacky putty to hold it. The secret about tacky putty is coming up soon!
- Center the garment with the sticker at the laser crosshairs and BULLSEYE! It’s centered!
My Tacky Hack!
When I researched this laser, it seems people have complained that it’s hard to position, or it vibrates when the machine is stitching. It comes with velcro and you stick it to your machine. But I found velcro a bit wobbly, especially if the side or top of your machine is not very flat. But I fixed it!
I used a generous amount of sticky putty on the battery box AND on the gooseneck. And it stays put. It doesn’t matter which brand of putty you choose.
I think the laser is useful for positioning as I showed earlier, but get you some of this sticky putty and you can attach it to your sewing machine and do things like…
Need to Stitch a Straight Line?
Use the laser line positioned to the seam allowance width you need. The laser comes with a gauge so it’s easy to line up.
It’s even more useful on my Coverstitch machine. I’ve used tape and even legos with sticky tack but the laser is easier to follow. And I feel so high-tech when I’m sewing.
For sewing ruffles – crosshairs
If you need to sew pleated ruffles but don’t have a ruffler foot – you can use the crosshairs to measure out your pleats.
For sewing right angles – crosshairs
The crosshairs are also good for sewing a perfect right angle. I know quilters can find a lot of uses for this.
My Thoughts
Those are some of the ways I’ve found to use this little laser in my sewing studio. I love how the laser and the stickers helped align things in the hoop for machine embroidery and that’s my new favorite method for positioning. I think it’s a pretty useful tool and I know Dave & Abby are really great with customer service. If I only had the Velcro, I don’t think this would work for me while the machine is stitching. They also have a magnet attachment but I didn’t test it so I can’t speak to that. But when I added the sticky tack putty – it made this a really handy sewing notion that was rock solid, so I’ll keep using it and probably come up with some new uses.
WARNING – I don’t let my cats into my sewing studio because they fuzz up my fabrics and chew on threads. But I REALLY wouldn’t let the cat near this laser when it’s on the machine. So PLEASE keep your kitties safe because they will find this laser irresistible and we don’t want to sew their little toe beans!
And I shouldn’t need to say it – but please don’t shine a laser into any eyeballs.
Where to Find It.
The ViviLux Laser is available at several online shops that sell to sewists. Here are a few that carry it. I’ve been a customer of each of these places and recommend them for quality products and services. Some links may be affiliate links where I will earn a small commission if you purchase from them (at no extra cost to you 😉)
- Harbor-Sales.com (<- the people who make the Vivilux laser)
- Amazon.com (ViviLux)
- SewingMachinesPlus.com
- Allstitch.com
- Allbrands.com
- SewingPartsOnline.com
This is definitely a gadget worth playing with. It’s my new favorite way of centering designs in the hoop and gauging the seams on the cover stitch machine. It’s living up to its “ooh!” factor in my sewing studio.
