What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of Wool Felt

12 Aug.,2024

 

Fun With Felt - Everything You Need To Know About This ...

Felt is a popular fabric used in many different projects, from clothing to decor. It has a fascinating history and manufacturing process so read on to discover everything you need to know about felt. 

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What is felt?

Made from natural fibres, felt is one of many manufactured fabrics. Unlike many of its counterparts, felt is not made by weaving. Instead, fibres are subjected to high levels of pressure and heat, with water added to the process to compress them into what we can recognise as felt fabric. The production process makes felt a durable material with a dense consistency as the fibres become permanently compressed and interlocked together. 

History of felt

There are many origins proposed when felt is discussed. Still, the most likely is that it originated in Asia around years ago. The historical evidence suggests that the Nomads first derived it when they found it to be a perfect fabric for tents and clothing and rugs to protect them from the elements. Even now, they use the material and develop a range of items like decorated slippers for the tourist trade. Another compelling story about the origins of felts is that in the Middle Ages, wool fibres were used to line shoes to provide comfort and warmth. As the footwear was worn, the sweat and heat from the feet combined with the pressure of walking created felt - but it is thought that production was not formalised, so they accidentally made felt without realising what they had discovered. 

What is felt made from?

Traditionally felt is made from wool and other natural materials. This gives it a soft finish that has become synonymous with felt. One of the reasons wool is used is because of how easily it can matt together. Usually, this would be a flaw, but the felt production industry has played to the natural properties and made it a valuable asset.

As time has passed, new techniques have seen wool combined with synthetic fibres, and a superior result has been achieved. Most felt is now a blend of wool and either acrylic or polyester. Totally synthetic felt is also used, such as acrylic felt. This does nothing to hamper the strength, but it does make the finished fabric more pliable. Rayon is also a synthetic fibre of choice for some blends as this makes the felt softer and removes the prickly feeling that a pure wool blend can cause. 

How felt is made?

Making traditional felt from scratch is a labour-intensive process. First, the raw materials must be collected from sheep or other woolly-coated animals. Once the wool is harvested, the next step for most uses is combing and carding. The fibres go through a large combing cylinder that uses large steel nails as teeth. It is then fed into a carding machine where smaller teeth card the fibres into loose fibres. The next stage is to create rolls, and a device called a cross-lapper makes batts. The batts are then exposed to heat and moisture, which causes them to shrink and condense. Finally, the pressure is applied using large rollers, which creates the final smooth fabric we use in sewing and craft projects.

Types of felt

There are several different types of felt, including: 

  • Wool felt &#; This felt is one of the most common and is made using sheep&#;s wool or other woolly-coated animal pelts. 
  • Polyester felt &#; This is a synthetic needle felt material made with 100% polyester. It has similar properties to traditional felt and is resistant to heat.
  • Acrylic felt - A cheaper version compared to wool and is made using acrylonitrile. Fibres are interlaced to create the same effect as wool felt. It is stain-resistant and washes well.
  • Woven felt - Pre-woven fabric is used, and then heat, water and pressure is applied to give the felt effect. This method creates a less dense finish.
  • Fur felt &#; Animal fur is used to create this felt. It is durable and flexible to work with. 
  • Rayon felt &#; This fibre shares similar characteristics to wool and is often used for insulation products.

What is felt used for?

Felt can be used for a wide range of projects, as it is very versatile. It is suitable for insulating and creating warmth. It is also great for decorative goods, arts and crafts and soft furnishing. As previously mentioned, it is used in tents and yurts and clothing. It is a popular material with hobbyists who enjoy needle felting and hat making.

Pros and cons of felt fabric

One amazing fact about felt is that it is highly flame retardant, and even if it were to catch fire, it is self-extinguishing. The material is very good at dampening sound and is absorbent and moisture-wicking. Felt is durable and easy to cut and work with. That said, it is pretty rigid and can shrink over time. The fabric can have a coarse feel, but this can be counteracted by adding synthetic fibres. Over time felt tends to go fuzzy, but it doesn&#;t fray. It is a cheap material with many uses making it a popular choice for sewing projects.

Popular felt colours

Felt is popular for arts and crafts projects. Many will have fond memories of classic green felt used to make a DIY craft garden patch. However, while this is still a much-loved pastime, there are lots of other crafting ideas you can create with felt and the variety of colours available. Check out some examples of simple DIY crafting projects here.

To help you get started, we stock a host of felt colours, including blue, pink, red, orange and black, plus many others. Felt is a great way to introduce kids to arts and crafts. However, it&#;s also perfect for other ideas such as Christmas decorations, card table covers and seasonal DIY projects. So check out the range here to inspire your next felt creations.

 

Sewing With Felt: The Pros and Cons

The felt sewing project is the easiest and most flexible product for making different items of felt. If you are starting a handmade felted wool product business, it is a key role to choose the best supplier. Whatever you need supplies, Felt and Yarn manufacturer is one of the best suppliers where you can purchase perfect and best quality felted fun for your home decor. Wool is a very commonly known textile from felt. Felting is a natural fiber and textile which has special properties used for a variety of purposes. There are two basic processes of making felted wool material i.e. wet and dry. Felted wool making is originally found in central Asia countries and broadly adopted by their cultures for various purposes including decor wall hanging, shoes, jewelry, clothing, and more. 

When finding handmade product suppliers like a felt supplier then you should be even more eagle-eyed. Feltmakers use different kinds of matching colors, techniques, and skills to produce a good quality felt for their customers. It has adopted a great impression of customers' requirements. The use of beautiful colorful patterns is the most crucial part for felt-maker to deliver their customer's desired items or products. Whether you are an experienced or a starter sewing with felt, is so interesting and fun-loving task that you can easily handle once you focus and play with felt. Some people might find it difficult to handle or work with felt but once you made your base on felt and learn about techniques or skills, it will be easy sewing projects for beginners.

What is felt?

Simply felt is a natural fiber that is felted together and it is a classical and oldest fabric where some people still prefer the oldest fabrics to use. In traditional times, felt was purposely used to make rugs, clothing, and natural felting slippers only however nowadays felts are used for a variety of purposes from decoration, and crafting to clothing. 

There are different variety of felt which comes in various vibrant colors. Also, it comes in different weights. Some of the felt is even thicker as compared to other fabrics but for padding thick felts are used which are also used for insulation. That&#;s why felt has superior thermal insulating properties as well whereas thinner felt is used for everything from kid&#;s crafting to adult crafting or DIY sewing projects.

Pros: Favorable Reasons to Work with Felt

The significant favorable reasons for working with felted wool products are briefly explained below:

No Fraying

As stated on many research sites felted wool is a non-woven physically mashing textile fiber. If you are interested to make a unique form of decoration then felt is a quite great material to work with the new learner and involve their creativity in felted wool crafts ideas.

Eco-friendly

Natural felted wool is an environmentally friendly resource and renewable as well. It is made from natural fibers and completely it is biodegradable. On the other hand, synthetic fibers or felt are usually made from nylon, acrylic, or recycled plastic. It is quite environmentally conscious and natural fibers must be a better option to use and deliver customers' required materials.

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Inexpensive

Felted wool product is the most inexpensive material in common part which uses a mixture of wool and synthetic fibers and these are mostly compressed using heat and moisture. Usually, it is affordable to manufacture and helps to achieve high density with a wide range of thicknesses. It is a great practice or sewing tip for the learner but careful felt acts differently from the woven product.

Easy Accessible

It is a natural process material and easily crafters or felt-makers access or purchase for their design or goals. You can grab your product from our online store as well, almost every kind of felts is available with the best quality at an amazing price.

Resourceful and Versatile

If you are looking for felt then DIY crafts easily come along with it. Diy sewing projects with felt is the easiest thing in a lot of ways. Especially if you are making winter accessories like scarves, mittens, and hats then felt is the perfect one to use. Moreover, you can use felt for home decoration, only you have to combine festive shapes into garlands or add a good texture to pillows with the use of different designs and shapes of felt. 

 

Also, you can keep your floor protected by padding the legs of furniture with felt and to store you're felted wool product properly, you can add decorative storage with comfortable and soft felt boxes. Many other fabrics are used for a lot of things, however, the felted wool fabric can be used to make accessories like felted wool bags and purses, and if you making something thicker kinds of felt even water-resistant, it will a perfect choice to make slippers and house shoes. There are still a lot of things that can be made with felts, for even more ideas on using felt, you can check out these blogs or visit our websites. 

Durable, Wear, and Tear-resistant

Felted wool is the best material, it finely keeps its form and still has soft and smooth fibers as compared to other materials, it is better, and extra fine fibers adapt to your feet. Not only that it also maintains a comfortable temperature all around as this kind of wool keeps warm when there is cold outside and cools when it is hot so much. 

This felt material is very much durable and flexible to breakage due to the complex cellular structure of wool and is seven times stronger than cotton, you can easily be bent wool felt more than 30,000 without no worries. Wool felt is one of the traditional well-known textile materials which provides 100% high-quality strong and heavy wool felt with special vibrant colors. It is a tear-resistant amazing fabric that is very perfect for handcrafting and simple sewing projects. 

Unique Texture and Feel

Felting is a fibrous material by the solicitation of moisture, matting, and different fibers possessing felting properties and such fibers include wool, fur, and hair fibers that mat together. It produces different sewing ideas and even produces them when mixed with other fibers. Wool felt is a chemical and wear-resistant material that retains its strength and unique properties use.

Easy to Cut into Different Sizes and Shapes 

Felt materials cut perfectly every time. It is an awesome product. It is hight extraordinary absorbent capabilities easy to cut in any size and shape or structure with a clean edge. It is also a thick material with no required for clean edges.

Easy to Sew by Hand or Sewing Machine

Felt is a brilliant sewing tip for beginners for handicraft purposes. There are a variety of vibrant colors and very simple to-sew structures as you desire and making it an amazing perfect material for many DIY projects, holiday decorations, and sharing gifts. 

For instance projects like festive(Christmas) decorations and finger puppets can easily be sewn by hand and it provides a handmade look. The thread and needle are the main required materials for sewing felt with a sewing machine Straight stitches are widely used for felted wool sewing and you can find a blanket stitch on some sewing machines. Also, you can try it for stitching applique and provide your nice handmade look felt project. 

Cons: Challenges to Work with Felt

Though above are the great merits of working with felt for beginner sewing projects and there are some demerits as well working with felt points are briefly discussed below:

Less Elasticity and Flexibility

Once you take your time to study how to sew felt fabric well, you will know that it doesn&#;t have a lot to give for felted wool craft ideas. If you usually work with lightweight felt, it will have more stretch to it or you can say it is easily stretchable as well but it finds it difficult to stretch in its heavier counterparts as compared to lightweight. Felt tends to be a bit stiff and resistant whenever you compare it to woven fabrics. The most drawback is that once felt is stretched out of shape, there&#;s no chance to return in the previous way or its original shape and size.

Harsh or Rough in Texture

Many felts are coarse and stiff in texture. It never lusters the way glossy silks or satins do and also doesn&#;t have a buttery mushy texture like Minky or swindle. Because that kind of fiber is essential to make felt; rough fibers are much easier to mat together into a solid fabric than soft ones. The texture used in felt makes a fabulous contrast to the decoration or trim.


 

More Possibility of Shrinkage

This is another disadvantage of working with felt which shrinks easily. Not all kinds of felt shrink but there are some varieties of felt that usually shrink if it is cleaned improperly, and specifically the majority of them are made from natural wool. Always make sure that you wash felt correctly to avoid shrinking and to prevent shrinkage, you either wash it from your hand or using use it in the washing machine. You must stay away from using dryers. The item or things that are made of felted wool must be placed in a good shape so that, you can proceed to dry them well.

Possibility to Attract Moths

Clothes moths love to eat natural fibers like felt. Felt usually attracts moths especially when it is placed in a dark spot like a piano frame. These bothersome moths feed completely on natural or animal fiber materials and are specifically affectionate with felt, wool, silk, fur, and more like similar items. These kinds of moths bring huge destruction to the nearest natural fiber materials.

Difficult to Clean

This is also one of the crucial disadvantages of working with felt. Felted wool is highly absorbent qualities and incredibly resilient material but cannot be tossed into the washing machine as it tends to shrink in warm and hot water and is also quite difficult to clean. As a consequence, most clothing manufacturers suggest dry cleaning the non-woven fabric or washing it by hand but when selecting the latter, a detergent is used to clean wool fabrics and scrubbed smoothly and gently with a soft brush to clean. 

There are thousands of easy things to sew for beginners that you enjoy and excite you more to play with felt crafts. Playing with felted wool is one of the favorite parts of every interested felt-makers. What are your thoughts on sewing with felt? Is this blog researchful and useful for you? Explore more and get your favorite project you&#;d like to share. 

Let us know if you have more tips and ideas to share then tag us or message us by clicking on this link. 

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