7 Fascinating Facts About Felt

Felt is a delightful material with ancient roots, yet it remains widely utilized in modern society in ways many people might not realize. At A Sewing Life, we incorporate felt into most of our patterns for crafting stuffed animals. Below are seven intriguing details about this charming fabric.

1. Felt Is the Oldest Known Textile

Felt actually ranks among the earliest forms of fabric ever discovered by humanity. It existed prior to both knitting and weaving techniques. Archaeological evidence reveals various types of felt dating back to the Iron Age.

2. The Origins of Felt

Pinpointing felt’s exact origin is challenging, as different cultures have distinct legends about its creation. One of the most prevalent tales involves Saints Clement and Christopher. As the story goes, when these men were fleeing persecution, they stuffed their sandals with wool to avoid blisters. The friction of the wool fibers rubbing together, combined with the heat and moisture from their sweat, caused the wool to bond into what effectively became felt socks.

Another well-known narrative links felt’s origins to Noah’s Ark. The ark’s interior was lined with wool, and the combination of animal urine and the pressure from animals walking on the wool caused it to mat into a woolen carpet. While other origin stories exist, these two are the most commonly cited and documented.

3. DIY Felting at Home

If you have an unworn wool sweater, you can transform it into felt by washing it in a hot cycle in your washing machine. This process mimics the industrial methods used to produce felt: the sweater will shrink, and its fibers will mat together tightly. Once felted, you can cut the material into pieces for craft projects without worrying about fraying.

For best results, use an item made of 100% wool—other fiber blends may react unpredictably during the felting process. If you’re not using the sweater anymore, it’s worth experimenting with this technique. Conversely, to preserve your favorite wool sweaters, always wash them in cold water or by hand. The felting process is triggered by the combination of hot water, soap, and agitation.

4. Felt’s Connection to the Phrase “As Mad as a Hatter”

During the 18th and 19th centuries, hat makers crafted felt from animal fur using a process called “carroting.” This involved soaking animal skins in an orange-hued solution to separate the fur from the skin, which was then matted into felt.

Unfortunately, this orange solution contained mercury. Exposure to the solution and its fumes led to widespread mercury poisoning among hat makers—hence the coining of the phrase “as mad as a hatter.” In 1941, the U.S. Public Health Service banned the use of mercury in the felt industry.

5. Wet Felting

A common method for producing felt is known as wet felting, which is typically used for wool-blend felt. This process involves agitating wool fibers while keeping them moist with soapy water. The wet fibers are manipulated back and forth to encourage them to interlock, resulting in a solid felt fabric.

6. Fuzzy Felt

In the 1950s, a children’s toy was introduced that has stood the test of time and remains popular today: Fuzzy Felt. This toy consisted of a flocked board and small cut-out felt pieces that could be arranged on the board to create scenes. A variety of themes were available, such as farmyards, schoolhouses, and more.

Fuzzy Felt was invented by Lois Allan during World War II and was manufactured in her cottage until 1972, when production moved to larger facilities. To date, over 29 million sets of Fuzzy Felt have been sold worldwide. Its popularity peaked in the 1970s, and it is now regarded as an iconic children’s toy.