Interesting facts about hand felting:

 

Felting — from unspun, sheared or discarded animal fiber — is the oldest textile technique. It must necessarily have originated before spinning and weaving.

All fur that derivates from sheep (from more than 900 sheep breeds worldwide) is called wool. All other animal fibers are called "hair". For example, the fur of camels, yaks, Mohair goats (Mohair), Angora rabbits (Angora) and alpacas can be processed into felt in the same way. Even dog hair and bison hair can be used in felting.

Wool and hair are renewable raw materials for which no animal has to die. The only exception is the fur of rabbits, specifically in the industrial production of hat blanks. Unfortunately, these rabbits must give their lives.

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Origin

Probably the first felt – as with so many things – was created by coincidence.

Soft animal hair, which they lose when shedding their fur, was collected to sit on. Through sweat, i.e., moisture, and friction, the first felt was created. However, this is only one of many explanations. Archaeological findings and estimates from the later Stone Age suggest that wool was already processed into felt at this time. However, since this material is ecologically very well degradable, it is difficult to find artifacts from early centuries that can be properly assigned. In the steppe-like highland belt around the Himalayas, starting in the south in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Korea with hot summers, cold winters and poor soils, the people living there were forced to be nomads.

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Lightweight homes made of felt that could be moved quickly, yet provided appropriate protection both in winter and summer, were the housing of choice for cattle breeders.

The oldest sophisticated and expressive felt finds date back to the 6th century BC and originate from Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains. These are mainly ritual objects, but practical things such as saddlecloths have also been found. The ancient sites where felt was found extend from northern Europe via Turkey and the above-mentioned highland belt to Japan. (see also “Felting, old tradition - modern craftsmanship”, Gunilla Paetau-Sjöberg)

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The oldest finds in northern Germany/northern Europe date back to the period around 1500 BC. In the Mediterranean region, finds date back to 700 BC. Thanks to murals in the lost city of Pompeii, it can be proven that felt was already used in southern Europe at that time. To North and South America, however, felt was only imported by the Spanish conquerors.

 

Use of felt in the past

Felt was used for very different purposes. One main use were probably the tents of nomads: lightweight, quick to assemble and disassemble, taking up little space during transport. A little later or at the same time, it was used for clothing: jackets, vests, scarves, hats, gloves and slippers. Finally, in combination with metal and leather, it was also used for decorative objects.

Over the centuries, felting was not forgotten, but it was only through Mary E. Burkett and her book “The Art of the Felt Maker” (1979) that this textile art and craft was brought back into our field of vision. Over the past 25 years, felt has made real quantum leaps in its development. Its image is no longer grey and scratchy, but creative, light and colorful.

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Manufacturing process

The unspun fiber is moistened. As a result, the scales of the fibers are raised. When friction is applied, these scales become entangled: FELT is produced. It should be noted that any artwork shrinks significantly during the manufacturing process. Felt has no 'direction', in contrast, for example, to woven or knitted fabrics. Consequently, it can be given any shape and it can be made three-dimensional without any seams. Even cuts do not faze the felt: It does not fray, nor does it unravel.

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Properties

In addition, wool has the following properties (see Wikipedia: Wool, practical use properties):

- Wool has a natural property for thermo-regulation. Since goods made of wool consist of up to 85% air (based on their total volume) and the fabric prevents convection, they are good heat insulators.

Colloquially, it is therefore said that wool “warms” well, although wool itself actually only stores the heat of the body.

- Wool can absorb large amounts of water vapor, but its surface repels water. Wool can absorb up to 33% of its dry weight in water without it feeling damp. In addition, it dissipates moisture much faster than, for example, the frequently used cotton fiber.

- Wool repels dirt, and the elastic fiber hardly creases.

- It is very colourfast and flame retardant. It does not burn; it only chars.

- Wool, unlike synthetic fibres, absorbs little odor (e.g. sweat) and is naturally self-cleaning – absorbed odor is released back into the air; wool smells neutral and fresh again after brief ventilation.

- It chemically binds sweat and thus neutralizes it for a long time.

- It dampens noises and swallows sound.

Wool and hair are completely biodegradable as natural products and very skin-friendly, with the exception of those who suffer from animal fur allergies.

 

Present use

Clothing and of course headgear are still made of felt today. Well-fitting garments without seams are the ultimate in felt art, but not very common.

The use of felt in home textiles has greatly expanded. These include table runners, sets, seat pads, cushions, carpets, upholstery fabrics, curtains, acoustic panels and wall hangings.

Felt jewelry, bags and decorative items for the home and garden are options for unlimited creativity.

For some time, experienced felt craftspeople have also been producing felt shoes and boots with real soles as part of the trend towards leather-free footwear.

Since we tend to live in solid dwellings these days, outdoor uses of felt are rather rare unless you want your personal yurt.

In the wake of the greatly increased number of burials in cemetery forests, felted urns for ash capsules are also an increasingly interesting topic. They meet the requirements for this type of burial since the containers around the ash capsules must be biodegradable.

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Care

The dense fiber structure of the felt prevents liquids and dirt from penetrating the material. Therefore, it is enough to vacuum the dirt or use a soft brush for cleaning. You can also soak wool felt in a wool detergent lye. Use towels to squeeze the water out of the felt. Do not wring dry. Let the felt dry afterwards, but not in direct exposure to sunlight. Wool that has been dried this way can be easily ironed with a damp cloth. Pure wool felt can also be dry cleaned. However, only wash it if absolutely necessary. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions!

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Wool pests

There are two different types of wool pest. On the one hand, this is the fur beetle: It, or rather its larva, causes holes in wool clothing. In felted items, there are actually round holes, whereas in knitted and woven items, there are frayed holes. On the other hand, there is the clothing moth: Its larva digs itself

from the wool surface into slightly deeper channels. If the fabric/knit/felt is thin enough, this larva can also create holes.

 

Both pests love quiet and comfortably warm environments, if possible, also including skin scales from wear.

However, there is a natural and environmentally friendly remedy that repels them: neem oil. This is a tree that grows in South Asia. In this tree, below it, above it and around it, no insects or animals that shed their skin can thrive. The essential oil of this tree prevents this. You can either buy this oil ready-made or mix it yourself: A 2% solution in alcohol (buy the more expensive one, because it smells better and the oil remains dissolved) is sufficient.

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Before you put your wool in the closet after spring, spray it in short bursts from a distance of about 30 cm on both sides. Repeat every 30-40 days: Briefly remove the wool from your closet, spray it and put it back.

You will then rarely – if ever – find moth holes. By the way, neem oil can also be applied in your garden against all kinds of vermin. (Text by Sigrid Bannier)

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