I have a top loader, but one without an agitator. I cannot felt in it the way I used to in my old washer. Evidently the agitation is a big part of the process. The last project I did had to be felted in a pot on the stove using a potato masher to agitate. I won't be doing that again. Maybe I should have just put it into the dryer and dried it until it was the correct size. It was a hat, and I was afraid it would shrink too much.