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Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber or acrylonitrile or wood pulp–based rayon. Blended fibers are also common. Natural fiber felt has special properties that allow it to be used for a wide variety of purposes. It is "fire-retardant and self-extinguishing; it dampens vibration and absorbs sound; and it can hold large amounts of fluid without feeling wet..."
Most likely, felt's origin was in east Asia, where there is evidence of feltmaking in Siberia (Altai mountains) in Northern Mongolia, and there is more recent evidence that dates back to the first century CE in Mongolia. Siberian tombs (7th to 2nd century BCE) show the broad uses of felt in that culture, including clothing, jewelry, wall-hangings, and elaborate horse blankets. Employing careful color use, stitching, and other techniques, these feltmakers were able to use felt as an illustrative and decorative medium upon which they could depict abstract designs and realistic scenes with great skill. Over time, these makers became known for the beautiful abstract patterns they used, which were derived from plant, animal, and other symbolic designs.
From Siberia and Mongolia, feltmaking spread across the areas that were held by the Turkic-Mongolian tribes. Sheep and camel herds were central to the wealth and lifestyle of these tribes, both of which animals were critical to producing the fibers that were needed for felting. For nomads who travelled frequently and lived on fairly treeless plains, felt provided housing (yurts, tents, etc.), insulation, floor-coverings, and inside walling, as well as many household necessities from bedding and coverings to clothing. In the case of nomadic peoples, an area where feltmaking was particularly visible was in trappings for their animals and for travel. Felt was often featured in the blankets that went under saddles.
Dyes provided rich coloring, and colored slices of pre-felts (semi-felted sheets that could be cut in decorative ways) along with dyed yarns and threads were combined to create beautiful designs on the wool backgrounds. Felt was even used to create totems and amulets that had protective functions. In traditional societies, the patterns embedded in the felt were also imbued with significant religious and symbolic meaning.
Feltmaking is still practised by , such as Mongols and Turkic people) in Central Asia, where carpet, , and clothing are regularly made. Some of these are traditional items, such as the classic yurt, or ger, while others are designed for the tourist market, such as decorated slippers. In the Western world, felt is widely used as a medium for expression in both textile art and contemporary art and design, where it has significance as an ecologically responsible textile and building material.
In addition to Central Asian traditions of felting, countries have also supported feltmaking, particularly for clothing.
Only certain types of fiber can be wet felted successfully. Most types of Wool, such as those taken from the alpaca or the Merino sheep, can be put through the wet felting process. One may also use Mohair, Angora rabbit, or hair from rodents such as beavers and muskrats. These types of fiber are covered in tiny scales, similar to the scales found on a strand of human hair. Heat, motion, and moisture of the fleece causes the scales to open, while agitating them causes them to latch onto each other, creating felt. Plant fibers and synthetic fibers will not wet felt.
In order to make multi-colored designs, felters conduct a two-step process in which they create pre-felts of specialized colors—these semi-completed sheets of colored felt can then be cut with a sharp implement (knife or scissors) and the distinctive colors placed next to each other as in making a mosaic. The felting process is then resumed and the edges of the fabric attach to each other as the felting process is completed. Shyrdak carpets (Turkmenistan) use a form of this method wherein two pieces of contrasting color are cut out with the same pattern, the cut-outs are then switched, fitting one into the other, which makes a sharply defined and colorful patterned piece. In order to strengthen the joints of a mosaic style felt, feltmakers often add a backing layer of fleece that is felted along with the other components. Feltmakers can differ in their orientation to this added layer—where some will lay it on top of the design before felting and others will place the design on top of the strengthening layer.
The process of felting was adapted to the lifestyles of the different cultures in which it flourished. In Central Asia, it is common to conduct the rolling/friction process with the aid of a horse, donkey, or camel, which will pull the rolled felt until the process is complete. Alternately, a group of people in a line might roll the felt along, kicking it regularly with their feet. Further fulling can include throwing or slamming and working the edges with careful rolling. In Turkey, some baths had areas dedicated to feltmaking, making use of the steam and hot water that were already present for bathing.
In Turkey, craft guilds called "ahi" came into being, and these groups were responsible for registering members and protecting the knowledge of felting. In Istanbul at one time, there were 1,000 felters working in 400 workshops registered in this ahi.
Felting needles are sometimes fitted in holders that allow the use of 2 or more needles at one time to sculpt wool objects and shapes. Individual needles are often used for detail while multiple needles that are paired together are used for larger areas or to form the base of the project. At any point in time a variety of fibers and fiber colors may be added, using needles to incorporate them into the project.
Needle felting can be used to create both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional artwork, including soft sculpture, dolls, figurines, jewelry, and 2 dimensional wool paintings. Needle felting is popular with artists and craftspeople worldwide. One example is Ikuyo Fujita(藤田育代 Fujita Ikuyo), a Japanese artist who works primarily in needle felt painting and Pipe cleaner art.
Recently, needle felting machines have become popular for art or craft . Similar to a sewing machine, these tools have several needles that punch fibers together. These machines can be used to create felted products more efficiently. The embellishment machine allows the user to create unique combinations of fibers and designs.
A felt-covered board can be used in storytelling to small children. Small felt cutouts or figures of animals, people, or other objects will adhere to a felt board, and in the process of telling the story, the storyteller also acts it out on the board with the animals or people. can also be made with felt, with a well-known example being the latter 20th century Muppets. Felt pressed dolls, such as , were very popular in the nineteenth century and just after World War I.
As part of the overall renewal of interest in Textile arts and , beginning in the 1970s and continuing through today, felt has experienced a strong revival in interest, including its historical roots.Susan Brown (2025). 9780910503891, Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. ISBN 9780910503891 Polly Stirling, a fiber artist from New South Wales, Australia, is commonly associated with the development of nuno felting, a key technique for contemporary art felting. German artist Joseph Beuys prominently integrates felt within his works. English artist Jenny Cowern shifted from traditional drawing and painting media into using felt as her primary media. (2025). 9780952835677, Skiddaw Press. ISBN 9780952835677
Modern day felters with access to a broad range of sheep and other animal fibers have exploited knowledge of these different breeds to produce special effects in their felt. Fleece locks are classified by the Bradford or Micron count, both which designate the fineness to coarseness of the material. Fine wools range from 64 to 80 (Bradford); medium 40–60 (Bradford); and coarse 36–60 (Bradford). Merino, the finest and most delicate sheep fleece, will be employed for clothing that goes next to the body. Claudy Jongstra raises traditional and rare breeds of sheep with much hardier coats (Drenthe, Heath, Gotland, Schoonbeek, and Wensleydale) on her property in Friesland and these are used in her interior design projects. Exploitation of these characteristics of the fleece in tandem with the use of other techniques, such as stitching and incorporation of other fibers, provides felters with a broad range of possibilities
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