Felt

For other uses, see Felt (disambiguation).

File:Felt 800.jpg

A selection of 4 different felt cloths.

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. The fibers form the structure of the fabric. Some types of felt are very soft, but some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any color, and made into any shape or size.

Felt is the oldest form of fabric known to humankind. It predates weaving and knitting, although there is archaeological evidence from the British Museum that the first known thread was made by winding vegetable fibers on the thigh. In Turkey, the remains of felt have been found dating back at least to 6,500 BCE. Highly sophisticated felted artifacts were found preserved in permafrost in a tomb in Siberia and dated to 600 CE.

Many cultures have legends as to the origins of feltmaking. Sumerian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by Urnamman of Lagash. It is said that Noah's Ark was lined with fleece and the combination of urine and the trampling of the animals left behind a felted wool carpet. The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.

Feltmaking is still made and used by nomadic peoples in Central Asia, where rugs, tents and clothing are regularly made. Some of these are traditional items, such as the classic yurt, while others are designed for the tourist market, such as decorated slippers. In the Western world, felt is widely used as a medium for expression in textile art as well as design, where it has significance as an ecological textile.

Manufacture

Felt is made by a process called wet felting, where the natural wool fiber is stimulated by friction and lubricated by moisture (usually soapy water), and the fibers move at a 90 degree angle towards the friction source and then away again, in effect making little "tacking" stitches. Only 5% of the fibers are active at any one moment, but the process is continual, and so different 'sets' of fibers become activated and then deactivated in the continual process.

This "wet" process utilizes the inherent nature of wool and other animal hairs, because the hairs have scales on them which are directional. The hairs also have kinks in them, and this combination of scales (like the structure of a pine cone) are what react to the stimulation of friction and cause the phenomenon of felting. It tends to work well only with woolen fibers as their scales, when aggravated, bond together to form a cloth.

Felting is done by a chemical process in industry. It is also sometimes done with special felting needles, which grab individual fibers and drag them against their neighbors, thereby binding them. Felting may also be done in a domestic washing machine on a hot cycle.

From the mid-17th to the mid-20th centuries, a process called "carroting" was used in the manufacture of good quality felt for making men's hats. Rabbit or hare skins were treated with a dilute solution of the mercury compound mercuric nitrate. The skins were dried in an oven when the thin fur at the sides went orange - carrot color. Pelts were stretched over a bar in a cutting machine and the skin sliced off in thin shreds, the fleece coming away entirely. The fur was blown onto a cone-shaped colander, treated with hot water to consolidate it, the cone peeled off and passed through wet rollers to cause the fur to felt. These 'hoods' were then dyed and blocked to make hats. This toxic solution and the vapors it produced resulted in widespread cases of mercury poisoning among hatters, which may have been the origin behind the phrase "mad as a hatter" and the character of the the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. A more accepted etymology states that it is a corruption of "mad as an adder". The United States Public Health Service banned the use of mercury in the felt industry in December 1941.

Felting differs from fulling in the sense that fulling is fabric that is constructed before continuing with the felting process as noted above.

Knitted woolen garments which shrink in a hot machine wash can be said to have felted — an example of how the fibers bond together when combined with the movement of the washing machine, the heat of the water, and the addition of soap. Therefore, woolen clothes should only be hand-washed or machine-washed in cold water.

Cheaper felt is usually artificial. Artificial felt, if made using the wet method, has a minimum of 30% of wool fibers combined with other artificial fibers. This is the minimum required to hold a fabric together with the fibers alone. It would be difficult to achieve a stable fabric by hand at this ratio. All other wholly artificial felts are actually needle-felts.

Loden is a type of felt originally worn in the Alpine regions, which has recently gained worldwide acceptance as a textile for fine and durable clothing.

Other Uses of Felt

While standard felt is rarely used in the manufacture of modern garments, its breathability has been seen as a selling point among a niche market group. Supporters of felt-use in the textile industry include American composer Aaron Copland and the satirical music group, the Capitol Steps.

Needle felting is a popular fiber arts craft.

Felt is used in music on drum cymbal stands to protect the cymbal from cracking.

Piano hammers are made of wool felt around a wooden core. The density and springiness of the felt is a major part of what creates a piano's tone. As the felt becomes grooved and "packed" with use and age, the tone will suffer.

See also

• Fuzzy felt
• Roofing felt
• Valenki

External links

• Read more about the history of feltmaking on 1-art-1.com - the website of UK textile artist and feltmaker Mary-Clare Buckle
• Home of Georgian Felt
• International Feltmakers Association
• Find out about traditional felt making in Kyrgyzstan.
• Learn about needle felting.
• Felt boots: rustic? No, a fashion statement!