Exploring Felt Fabric: Properties, Uses, and Types
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Felt fabric is an amazing fabric believed to be one of the world's oldest fabrics. Felt is a versatile material that I love for its easy use for crafts and sewing projects. Felt is a non-woven fabric made by matting wool or other fibers together using heat, moisture, and agitation. It is known for its softness, durability, and insulating qualities, making it a popular choice for various applications. In this post, learn what is felt, different types of felt fabric, its properties, and uses.
Table of Content
Felt fabric is a type of textile that is made from fibers (the smallest visible unit of any textile). These are matted together to form a dense fabric. The result is a strong material consisting of permanently joined fibers.
Felt can be produced from natural fibers such as wool or synthetic fibers like acrylic.
How is Felt Fabric Made?
To make felt fabric, wool or other fibers are first cleaned and carded to align the fibers. The fibers are then layered in multiple directions and subjected to pressure and moisture to intertwine and bond together. The fabric is then dried and treated to strengthen the structure. This process is called felting. Felt is known for its fuzzy texture and ability to hold shapes well. Felt fabric can range from soft and lightweight to thick and dense, depending on the type of textile fibers used in its production.
Felt sheets
Felt fabric is known for its durability, excellent insulating properties, and sound absorption capabilities. It is a soft and pliable material that is resistant to wrinkles and stretching. Felt can be dyed in various colors and is often used for decorative purposes due to its ability to hold intricate shapes.
Advantages of Felt Fabric:
Does not ravel or fray as woven fabrics - This is an extremely handy property when learning to sew. It's highly recommended material for kids' sewing projects.
Comes in many colors and thicknesses - Felt comes in various thicknesses ranging from 0.04 inch to 1 inch (1 mm to 25 mm). The preferred thickness for crafting with felt is about 0.05 to 0.06 inch (1,2 mm to 1,4 mm).
For felt crafts where you look for sturdiness, 1/8 inch felt (3 mm) can be used, for example, for Christmas stockings, coasters, placemats, bags, purses, slipper soles.
Inexpensive except for high-end felt
Can be cut to any size, shape with a clean edge
Can be sewed by hand as well as on a sewing machine - If you would like to learn more about sewing with felt, visit my post how to sew felt, full of tips for your next felt projects.
Wear resistant
Wool felt is highly absorbent and flame retardant
Wool felt is excellent sound insulator
Wool felt is excellent insulator for temperature
Wool felt is chemical and water resistant
Disadvantages of Felt Fabric:
Not easy to wash - I would be very careful washing felt in the washing machine. If you need to wash it, dry clean it or wash it gently in cold water by hand.
Minimal elasticity - Good quality felt has minimal elasticity. If the felt fabric streches rather easily, avoid it for your projects.
Potential for shrinking - This applies especially to wool felt. Wash by hand using cold water and avoid a tumble dryer.
Can fuzz over time - This is a considerable disadvantage of cheap craft felt. The other types should fuzz much much slower.
Some people experience prickly feeling on skin - This is true especially for wool felt.
There are several types of felt, with differences in fibers they are made from and production methods leading to distinct characteristics. If you want to know where to buy felt visit my Types of felt post. In this post, you’ll also learn that felt can be a sustainable material as it can be produced from recycled material like plastic bottles.
Wool felt fabric is the most common type of felt produced from wool fibers, primarily from sheep wool. It's also the oldest form of felt. As it's made of natural raw materials, it's environmentally friendly. This wool fabric is popular for clothing, and toys for kids.
Acrylic felt, the typical felt fabric you find in craft stores, is made from synthetic fibers. This makes acrylic fabric not so environmentally friendly as it's non-biodegradable. It means that it contributes to plastic pollution when discarded. Acrylic felt is popular among crafters for its lower price.
Wool blend felt is commonly used in crafting. This felt is a blend of wool (20-35%) and rayon (80-65%) fibers. Blended wool felt is produced to provide some of the look and feel of wool felt fabric but at a lower price. It has better quality than acrylic felt.
Rayon felt is a fabric made from semi-synthetic fibers. It's commonly used in medical and industrial applications. It substitutes cotton, or wool in certain clothing. IIt's not that environmentally friendly as this felt production requires extensive chemical processing.
Needled felt is produced without the inclusion of moisture; instead, thousands of needles are used in the production. The felt fibers are intertwined with the needles, and this process is called needling.
Wool Felt vs. Synthetic Felt
Wool felt is made from natural wool fibers, offering superior warmth and moisture-wicking properties. On the other hand, synthetic felt, such as acrylic felt or craft felt, is often more affordable and can come in wonderful colors. Wool felt is the highest quality felt, while synthetic felt is the cheapest one. Synthetic felt doesn't shrink when you wash it.
Needle Felt vs. Pressed Felt
Needle felt is produced by interlocking fibers using barbed needles, creating a dense and durable material. Pressed felt, also known as non-woven felt, is made by compressing and matting fibers together under pressure.
Interlock Felt vs. Non-Woven Felt
Interlock felt is a type of woven felt that combines fibers in an interlocking pattern, providing added strength and stability. On the other hand, non-woven felt is made directly from fibers without the need for weaving or knitting.
Felt sheets of wool blend felt
Felt fabric finds a wide range of applications across different industries and home settings due to its versatility and tactile qualities. Felt fabric is typically used in crafting, industrial applications, and fashion, particularly in making hats such as fur felt hats.
Home Decor Applications
In home decor, felt fabric is used for crafting items such as decorative pillows, wall hangings, wreath and table runners. Its soft texture and vibrant colors make it popular for adding warmth and texture to living spaces. They're also beautiful art pieces made with felt.
Crafting and Decorations
One common use for felt is making crafts and decorations. For example, felt fabric can be used to make flowers, garlands, ornaments, and other decorative items for special occasions or for everyday use. These items also make for stunning handmade gifts. Another great use of felt is to make masks and costumes. I share a free pattern for a no-sew dog mask for kids.
Felt can also be used for toys. Wool felt or wool blend felt is especially desirable because it is soft and safe to use.
Industrial Use of Felt Fabric
In industries, the felt fabric is utilized for its sound-dampening properties, making it ideal for lining machinery or equipment to reduce noise levels. Felt is also used in industrial and medical applications for filtration and padding purposes.
Fashion and Apparel Usage
In the fashion industry, the felt fabric is commonly used for creating hats, scarves, and clothing items. The dense structure of felt provides excellent insulation, making it suitable for cold-weather accessories and outerwear. Did you know that people wear a felt hat made from wool felt fabric in saunas? I was approached by a company if I could sew some for them.
Music Industry
In music industry, felt is used for its soundproofing properties as it reduces vibration. It's utilized in musical instruments, primarily pianos and drums. Felt pads and hammers are used to dampen sound. There also exists a felt pick for guitar.
When choosing felt fabric for a project, it is essential to consider the quality of the material to ensure optimal results:
Examining the Fiber Content - Check the fiber content of the felt to ensure it is made of high-quality wool or a wool blend for superior durability and performance.
Checking for Consistent Thickness - Quality felt should have consistent thickness throughout the fabric, indicating uniformity in the manufacturing process and better overall structure.
Testing the Durability of Felt - Bend and stretch the felt fabric to test its resilience and durability. High-quality felt should retain its shape and structural integrity even after repeated use.
Having the right tools for felt will help you to enjoy the felt crafting hobby even more. You might be interested in reading the following sewing tips and tricks posts as well:
Here are some ideas for felt crafts that you can sew using my free felt patterns.
Felt ornaments - You can find many small projects to try here.
Felt toys - Felt fabric is an excellent choice for crafting soft toys and stuffed animals for kids. You can explore my felt doll patterns, free felt animal patterns, and free finger puppet patterns.
Handmade felt accessories - Design and create personalized accessories like keychains, coin purses, or hair accessories using felt fabric for a handmade touch.
Pretend play toys - You can craft educational toys using the free felt food patterns or make fun felt boards.
Felt decoration - Find ideas for felt coasters and Easter decoration.
Free pattern for simple felt heart keychain
In conclusion, felt is non-woven fabric with practical and creative applications, such as clothing and decorations. This type of fabric is soft and durable, depending on its type and how it is produced. Felt can be made from natural or synthetic fibers, with wool and fur being the most common materials used. There are different types of felt such as wool felt, wool blend felt, rayon felt and acrylic felt. Felt is widely used in crafting, but has also many industrial and fashion uses.
Happy felt crafting!
Be sure to visit more on this website for free embroidery and sewing tips & tricks to help you out as you stitch my patterns. For free felt patterns, visit my Freebies page.
Let's craft together!
XO, Anna