Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing
and pressing fibers. The fibers form the structure of the fabric.
Felt is the oldest form of fabric known to man. It predates
weaving and knitting, although there is archaelogical evidence
from the British museum that the first known thread was made
by winding vegetable fibres on the thigh. Felt dates back to
at least 6,500 BC where remains were found in Turkey. Highly
sophisticated felted artifacts were found preserved in permafrost
in a tomb in Siberia and dated to 600 AD.felt uk, felt bags,
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Many cultures have legends as to the origins of feltmaking.
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.felt
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It is said that Noah's Ark was lined with fleece and the combination
of urine and the trampling animals left behind a felted wool
carpet. Felt is now widely used as a medium for expression in
textile art as well as design, where it has significance as
an ecological textile. Sumerian legend claims that the secret
of feltmaking was discovered by Urnamman of Lagash.felt ceramic
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Feltmaking is still practiced in traditional styles by nomadic
peoples in Asia, where rugs, tents and clothing are regularly
made. Felt is made by a process called wet felting, where the
natural wool fibre is stimulated by friction and lubricated
by moisture (usually water), and the fibres move at a 90 degree
angle towards the friction source and then away again, in effect
making little "tacking" stitches. Only 5% of the fibres
are active at any one moment, but the process is continual,
and so different 'sets' of fibres become activated and then
deactivated in the continual process.
This "wet" process utilises 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
fibres as their scales, when aggravated, bond together to form
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Felting is done by a chemical process in industry. It is also
sometimes done with barbed needles, which grab individual fibers
and drag them against their neighbors, thereby binding them.
Felting may also be done out of your home, with your washing
machine on a hot cycle.
From the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, a process called
"carroting" was used in the manufacture of felt. Animal
skins were rinsed in an orange solution of the mercury compound
mercuric nitrate. This process separated the fur from the pelt
and matted it together. 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". 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 woollen garments which shrink in a hot machine wash
can be said to have felted — an example of how the fibres
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 fibres combined
with other artificial fibres. This is the minimum required to
hold a fabric together with the fibres alone. It would be difficult
to achieve a stable fabric by hand at this ratio. All other
wholly artificial felts are actually needle-felts.
Needle-felt is an artificial form created by the use of barbed
needles forcing groups of fibres through a web of carded fibres
to create a non woven fabric structure. This is not true felt.
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.
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. Among the supporters of felt-use
in the textile industry include musical composer Aaron Copland
and the satirical music group, the Capitol Steps.
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