Felt is a non-woven fabric formed when sheep's' wool or animal fur is subjected to heat, moisture

      and pressure or agitation. Soap, or an alkaline environment, helps the felting process. Heat and

      moisture cause the outer scales along the fiber to open, and the soap allows the fibers to slide

     easily over one another thereby causing them to become entangled. The wool fibers are made up of

     a protein called keratin. The keratin in the fibers becomes chemically bound to the protein of the

     other fibers thereby resulting in a permanent bond between the fibers, making the felting process

      irreversible.

     No one knows for certain how humans first discovered the felting properties of wool and animal fur, but

     several ideas suggest how early humans may have become interested in making felt. Matted wool may

     have been noticed on sheep. Wool shed from wild sheep may have been found formed into a mass of

     fibers as a result of the elements. Perhaps they stuffed their foot ware, presumably animal hide, with

     wool to keep their feet warm. After walking on the wool for a while they found that it became stiff and

     formed a kind of fabric.

    The oldest archaeological finds containing evidence of the use of felt are in Turkey. Wall paintings that

    date from 6500 to 3000 B.C. have been found which have the motif of felt appliquÈ. At Pazyryk in

    Southern Siberia archeological evidence of felt was found inside a frozen tomb of a nomadic tribal chief

    that dates from the fifth century B.C. The evidence from this find shows a highly developed technology

    of feltmaking. (These felts are in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Some pieces can be

    seen on the museums web site, www.hermitagemuseum.org) The Romans and Greeks knew of felt.

    Roman soldiers were equipped with felt breastplates (for protection from arrows), tunics, boots and socks.

    The earliest felt found in Scandinavia dates back to the Iron Age. Felt sheets believed to be from about

    500 A.D. were found covering a body in a tomb in Hordaland, Norway.

   Today felt is still in use in many parts of the world especially in areas with harsh climates. In Mongolia,

   nomads live in felt tents called yurts or gers. In Turkey, rugs, hats and other items are made of felt.

   In South Central Asia nomadic tribes use felt as tent coverings, rugs and blankets. Shepherds use felt

   cloaks (kepenek) and hats to protect them from the harsh climate. In Scandinavia and Russia, felt boots

   are produced and widely used. More recently there has been a revival in the interest in felt making

   especially in Great Britain and Scandinavia and also in the United States with contemporary felt making

  design and techniques becoming more widespread.