This is the most confusing word used in the “Wool” world. It means two different things depending on how the word is used. I’m going to try to clear that up for you.
Webster’s definition:
felt, n. 1. a non woven fabric of wool, fur, or hair, matted together by heat, moisture, and great pressure. 2. a matted fabric or material that resembles felt.
So, when you hear the term wool felt, it is the process described above that has wool fibers mixed with synthetic fibers. There is usually only about 10% wool fibers and the rest is synthetic. Felt is made like paper with ground-up fibers pressed together to make sheets. It is a NON WOVEN product.
Felted wool is another product altogether. It is garment-quality 100% woven wool fabric that has been washed in hot water, rinsed in cold water and dried in the dryer to shrink or tighten the weave. In the wool appliqué world we call this felting the wool. Another term used for this process is boiled wool.
The difference in price and quality is light-years away from each other. One is an heirloom quality fabric and the other is a craft product.
So, the question to ask when ordering a wool kit is:
Does this kit contain 100% woven wool that has been felted or is it felt?
The price should also give a hint if it is pure woven wool that has been felted or simple craft felt. Felted woven wool can cost up to 10 times the cost of felt but remember, projects made from felted wool are heirloom quality as opposed to a craft project.
I sincerely hope this helps to clear up the confusion of “felted wool” a high quality woven fabric that has been washed to shrink it, which is what we use, as opposed to “wool felt” that is a non woven craft product.
