This multi-faceted felt
Let's talk about felt, a unique man-made material, its history and modern realities.
Felt is perhaps one of the most ancient textile materials on Earth. In various cultures, its appearance is surrounded by myths and legends. According to biblical legends, it was accidentally discovered by Noah during the Great Flood. The wool of the animals floating on the ark fell to the floor, got wet, was beaten by hooves and eventually turned into a felt carpet. In fact, felt most likely dates back to the prehistoric period, when its likeness could be obtained from scraps of animal fur that gathered in the corners of caves and gradually compacted. Ancient man began to use such natural bedding as beds. But the manufacture of felt using felting techniques arose much later and is inextricably linked with the domestication of sheep about 6-7 thousand years ago and sheep breeding. The oldest samples of felt were discovered by archaeologists in the burials of the Altai Mountains dating back to the 4th-5th centuries BC. Since sheep is an extremely unpretentious animal, its breeding range has covered the territory from the Caspian Sea to the Himalayas. Sheared sheep wool has become the main raw material for felting.
Felt was one of the main types of textiles among many peoples, but felting as a method of processing wool was most widespread among ancient nomadic tribes. It is impossible to imagine their culture and life without felt. People were born and died on felt, covered their homes with felt, dressed in felt clothes. With its help, many necessary things were created: bags, shoes, horse blankets, various carpets and many other household items.
In addition to utilitarian use, felt also carried an artistic load. Since ancient times, people have learned to decorate it and invented quite a lot of ways to decorate felt: applique (embedding a pattern into a canvas), stitch, embroidery, painting with paints, beading, shells, in other words, everything that a person's imagination can come up with. Any patterns on felt had a sacred meaning – protection of the house and the owner. Magical properties were also attributed to felt products. Figurines made of it decorated the homes of many steppe tribes. Nomads believed that felt charms would bring good luck to the house and scare away evil spirits.
Felt was also an indispensable material in Russia. It was widely used for the manufacture of camping tents, bedspreads, blankets, sweats, and horse-drawn carts. In addition, peasant men's hats were made of felt, which had a conical top. For the manufacture of thin felt (including for hats), the wool of young sheep of spring shearing was used. The coarse felt was made from the wool of adult sheep.
In the villages of Russia, craftsmen made felting felt without breaking away from agriculture, although in cities this production had already become an independent craft by the XIV century. Much later, about two hundred years ago, in Russia they learned to roll felt boots made of coarse sheep wool. In addition to felt boots, cloth was made in Russia, which was quite popular, and felt for household needs. The fishing of cutovals and felters began to spread throughout the country. In the XIX century, felting machines and presses were invented; felling was performed by squeezing and rolling wool or by tangling wool fibers with mechanical needles. After the revolution of 1917, the fishery practically disappeared. The revival of felting began in the 90s of the last century, and now the culture of making artistic felt and felt textiles is in the process of its formation.
As you know, wool is the only fiber that can be piled. This is due to the peculiarities of its structure. The hairs have an upper scaly layer ‒ cuticle, – therefore, they can adhere to each other under the influence of compaction ‒ rolling, friction, alkaline medium and hot or warm water. This is the basis for the two main techniques of felting wool - dry and wet.
When dry felting, the wool is repeatedly pierced with special needles with notches located at a certain angle. During this process, the wool fibers get tangled, forming a dense homogeneous material. Dry felting is used to create three‒dimensional products - toys, costume jewelry, author's dolls, as well as applying drawings and patterns to other materials.
Wet felting is carried out by exposing the wool to a soap or other special solution. The wool spread out in a certain way on the surface is moistened with a soap solution, then ironed and rubbed in various directions, gradually increasing the pressure. The result is a felt cloth. Wet felting is suitable for making flat products ‒ panels, hats, bags, clothes, stoles.
To be continued
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