Culture of Felting

By: Sierrah Liu

How do I define culture and design?

I define culture as the values and identity of someone that make them unique.

Two quotes that fit my description is by Thomas Wolfe and M.F. Moonzajer, both

novelists.

“Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs.”

“My culture is my identity and personality. It gives me spiritual, intellectual and

emotional distinction from others, and I am proud of it.”

In my presentation, my influencer (Joanna Zhou) states how girls should have a mind of

their own. She proves to have her own individual identity, not someone else’s. The two

quotes fit my definition of culture because they state how culture is art and everyone’s

culture is their own identity and personality. I agree with this because I believe nobody

belongs to one culture, they also have their own culture. Culture is also not an item or

one particular subject, therefore, culture has more than one meaning.

I define design as how something works. It can be art or a creation of something.

The subject design is very vague, because it has more than one definition. A quote that

fits my description is by a famous graphic designer named Paul Rand.

“Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has

multiple definitions;; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be

aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.”

In my topic of felting, design is having your own creativity and personal touch when you

make something. This is what makes something unique. This quote matches my

definition because Paul Rand states that design can be, and is art. He also says it

doesn’t have a single definition.

What is Felting?

Felting is a method of creating felt, by two methods. Felt can be made using

natural fibers such as wool. However, it is also possible with synthetic fibers such as

acrylic. The first method is called “water felting”. This method is done with water, friction

and heat. The moisture comes from the water, and the friction usually is generated from

scrubbing back and forth. The heat can come from body heat, or from warm water.

Usually, water felted things are made from knitted pieces, using feltable yarn. Another

way is by making felted soap. This is where soap is wrapped in pieces of wool, and is

scrubbed under warm water. This step is done until the wool stiffens and creates a

whole covering for the soap. Another water felted item are felted sheets. These are

whole sheets of felt. Which is how felt is often sold in crafting stores. Sheets of felt are

created using wool, and starts off with small tufts of wool. The tufts are then layered on

top of each other. Each time there is a new layer it is layered vertically, then horizontally

and so on. After about three layers, the small matt of wool is covered under a sheet of

netting. The wool is then drenched in warm water, making sure not to drown it. Soon,

the wool will start to absorb the water, as it flattens from its puffy state. Next, a bar of

soap is used to gently scrub the surface of the wool, making sure not to disturb the it.

After, the wool is gently rubbed in a circular motion, to help tangle the fibers. Now, the

net is removed and the sheet of wool is rolled into a sushi mat. The excess water is then

drained from the wool. The mat is rolled back and forth for a minute, allowing the wool

to compact. This step is repeated until you can no longer individually pull out layers of

wool. This is a sign that the wool is felted. Afterwards, it can be cut and styled into

different uses.

The second method is called “needle felting”. This is when felt is created by

poking or prodding the wool with a tool. Because the felt is not solid, when you use the

tool, it will damage the surface you are using. This is why you usually needle felt on a

foam surface. The foam is a solid surface, but will not be damaged if the tool goes

through the wool. The wool is then prodded with a special needle. This needle is

particularly for felting, because it lined with barbs. When the tool is used, it hooks the

wool fibers, matting them together. This creates a more solid and unified object. The

more you poke it, the harder and compacted it will become.

Felting History:

The history of felt originated in Asia and Europe. This is because they had

access to animals like sheep or fur to create felt. However, places like Africa had not

discovered felting as early as other civilizations. The earliest prehistoric findings date

from the Neolithic period 6500-­6300 BCE. The concept of making felt is very simple,

therefore many different civilizations discovered it. What made each civilization unique

was that they all had a different way of using it.

The word “felt” is a Latin derivative and it originally meant “to beat”. This is

because in early times people used to beat the wool. Which over time matts the wool,

creating the thick material known as felt.

The Mongolians were among the many people who discovered felt. They started

by layering sheets of wool, occasionally watering it with warm water. After many layers,

they would roll it all together into a large cylinder-­like roll. The rolled up rug would then

be tied to horses or camels. Then it would be dragged around the steppe. A steppe is a

large grassland, which is filled with moisture and tangles the wool together. After a few

hours, the roll is opened and the wool would be matted into a single piece. The now felt

would be ready to use. Mongolians used felt for blanket like coverings on yurts. Yurts

are circular tents that is usually covered in animal skin or felt.

Many civilizations used felt for many other purposes, like armour, clothing,

blankets, rugs and more. Felt is very sturdy and is waterproof. This makes it useful for

many more purposes. A Chinese civilization called the Tarim Basin used felt for a

different purpose besides clothing. They used felt to wrap mummies. In this example, a

red haired infant is wrapped in a red felt blanket and blue bonnet.

The Mongolians used heat and moisture to help the wool merge together.

However there is more than one way of making felt. Felt can also be made using

pressure or agitation. These factors in making felt is a method called water felting. In the

next examples, the method used to make felt is water felting. This is because the other

method is not a natural way of making felt. The other method is called needle felting.

This method tangles the wool by poking it with a special needle, which hooks the wool

causing it to tangle.

According to legends, the Chinese discovered felt when they put a bundle of

wool on a horse as a cushion. This acted like a saddle. Friction and sweat was

produced while riding the horse. The body heat from the rider and the horse helped the

wool turn into felt. Overtime, the wool under the rider would compress into a solid fabric.

In Arabia a camel driver was claimed to have discovered felt the same way. Another

example of how people discovered felt was from Europe. People believed that felt was

discovered by a saintly pilgrim. It is claimed that he discovered felt when he put wool in

his sandals. Like the chinese, the pilgrim used the wool as a cushion and padding.

When walking long distances, your feet will become sore and sweaty. So, when he

walked the heat, sweat and friction in his shoe caused the wool to turn into felt. This is

because as he walked, he would create friction which helped tangle the wool fibers.

Elements of Style:

Felt is a very basic material, and is not hard to make nor find. Many people have

found ways to use felt to its fullest. Besides making cute plushies, clothing, hats, bags

and blankets, there is another type of felted craft called felted soap. Felted soap is soap

with a thin layer of felt around it. The felted soap is created using the water felting

method. Layers of wool is wrapped around the soap, and they are scrubbed together

under warm water, eventually creating a unified layer of felt around the soap. You can

use it as regular soap. Because of the outer layer of felt, the soap appears to be

completely felted, but it is still a bar of soap. This is unique because this method of

water felting is not something that is restricted to soap. This can also be done on

stones, and other objects. In the pictures below, the third image seems very intricate

because of its small details and patterns. However, the flowers in the second image is

felted on afterwards, using the needle felting method. This goes the same for the two

Totoro characters. Being able to add details is a unique way of adding personal flair. In

the flower soap, the creator adds a small scenery of their own, making a gray bar of

soap, and art piece.

Another example of the creative aspect about felting is the shape. When you

needle felt an object you are able to manipulate the felt into various shapes and sizes.

This element allows you to create a 3D effect and make the felted pieces seem more

realistic. In this example the three felted items their shape and size are easily adjusted.

The wool is first clustered into the desired shape, and the more you poke the felt, the

smaller the object will be. This is because the needles tangles it and it condenses more,

making it more and more hard. Usually, a felted ball for example, is squishy and is able

to be compressed when you squeeze it. However, the more you prod the felt, the harder

it gets. So in order to add more texture into the piece. The next two images show a

felted dress and boots, which are water felted. Water felted items are either felted by

creating felted sheets, or is first knit using feltable wool, and washed under warm water

until it turns into a solid piece. The two pieces of clothing are made from felted pieces,

which means it was first a knit item, then water felted into a whole fabric. Another

example of different styles and possibilities with felt is felted sheets. Felted sheets can

be made into many things because it can be easily cut, folded and trimmed. For

example, you can make coasters for drinks by cutting out circles from a sheet of felt.

You can also cut a sheet into small shapes, which can be turned into small pins or

badges. They can also be strung together into a banner or other small decorations and

gifts. Within all these example, the main point is to prove that the possibilities for felt is

endless. Not only that, felt is used in our daily lives, whether you notice it or not. For

example, it could be part of your clothing, or hat. It could also be the sole of your shoes,

or a coaster in your kitchen. Felt could be the material of a bag, or a art decoration in

your house.

This is a picture of people making a

felt sheet, with the straw mat as a

sushi mat.

Influence:

My curiosity for felting did not start with any influence. However, I later found my

influence who got me deeper into the culture of felting. I started making small crafts

because I always found it fun and interesting. It has always been my hobby to create

small projects and DIYs. However I started developing my interest for felting about a

year ago. On a trip to Taiwan, I ran into a small crafting store within a mall. The store

was unique. Because you don’t buy finished crafts and materials to do it yourself.

Instead, you can make whatever you want there, and the shop will teach and guide you.

I saw people come in with little toys or pictures, and the staff would help them replicate

it using felt. At that time, I didn’t know too much about the idea of felt, but it seemed very

interesting and cute. They had a shelf displaying many felted crafts, from a life size

cake, to small disney characters. I browsed each craft with aw, thinking this would be a

task for professionals. However, when they asked me if I would like to make something,

I excitedly agreed. This led me to stay there for two hours, creating my own felted craft.

I created a small totoro and stitch, which was made by needle felting. In seventh grade,

I also water felted a bag. I first knit the bag with yarn that is feltable. Afterwards, I

scrubbed it with warm water and soap, over and over. After doing this for a couple

period’s worth of time, I could no longer see the holes in between stitches, and I had

created a felt bag. This all relates to my current influencer, because my growing interest

for this craft is how I found her. A friend of mine introduced me to her youtube channel,

and as I went through her videos, I noticed how unique and independent she was. My

influence is a current youtuber, Joanna Zhou. She is an influencer based in Austria. She

went to college in London, and became a manga illustrator and graphic designer. As an

award winning manga and graphic designer, she was very inspired by the style of

kawaii culture. Kawaii means cute in Japanese, which was a big element in her designs

as a manga illustrator. This influenced her to start her own shop and youtube channel,

which creates kawaii crafts like plushies, felted kits, and clay crafts. She even has a

couple videos specialized on career tips. She doesn’t have a specific influencer that she

publicly mentioned. However, she has mentioned on her website that she wants to help

girls build their self confidence. She now has two successful youtube channels, as well

as a postponed online shop. This is because she wants to focus on her two channels

more. One which she only demonstrates crafts and kits. While the other one is shows

her face and is more interactive. She creates all sorts of jewelry and hand-­crafted items

that are stocked in real shops. Her products can be found in over ten stores within the

United Kingdom. She inspires me because she did not start her business with

advantages like being rich or having special connections. She shows how you don’t

need a rich husband to be successful, and how everyone should be independent. She

sets an example that girls can and should have a creative mind of their own,

empowering many others. She has her own style and individual flair in making her crafts

and videos. This inspires me to do the same. She has taught me to think for myself,

which inspires me to create my unique style. You teaches me that I don’t need to copy

someone or try to be like them, because I have my individual culture.

My creations:

For this project, I created two needle felted items. The first one is a felted

character called Totoro, From the movie My Neighbor Totoro . The totoro is holding a

small sack of acorns, which I added because in the movie, Totoro eats acorns. To make

it I separately created the arms, legs, ears and body. I then felted them together, and

added on small details on his face and body. This craft took around forty five minutes to

make, mainly because this was the first felted craft I had made. The second craft is a

felted Stitch from the Disney film The Movie Stitch . In this second craft, I individually

made the character’s pieces again, and then attached them. In some cases, you can

use a cookie cutter or template to create a perfect shape. For example, you can make a

perfect heart by placing layers of wool inside a heart shaped cookie cutter. Then, you

can prod the wool with the needle until it condenses into felt. Afterwards, you are left

with a perfectly shaped felt heart. The third project is a step-­by-­step instruction sheet on

how to make a basic felt heart banner. I decided to make this project into a banner to

show examples of different uses of felt.

A heart template for a perfect shape

Copyright:

For this project, I chose a BY-­ND creative common license for my pieces. This

stands for attribution non-­commercial license. BY stands for attribution. So if someone

was to use my piece, they must give credit me. ND stands for non-­commercial. Which

means the user is allowed to copy, display and distribute my work, as long as it is not

for commercial use. I chose this license because I want anybody viewing my work to

know who was the original creator, and I don’t want the user to use my work for a

commercial profit either. I don’t think it is right that someone is using other people’s

work, to make profit. This license allows the user to display my work, without any unfair

advantages or misleading assumptions.

Bibliography:

1. Burch, Author Laura. "Needle Felting 101: History, Wool, Tools." Laura Lee

Burch . Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

2. Harris, Barb. "The History of Felt." SlideServe ., 10 Sep. 2014. Web. 10 Nov.

2016

3. KilaKila, Nifer. "Felting Hat Bodies." Sci Am Scientific American 10.16 (1854):

124. NifNaks . Web.

4. Laufer, Berthold. “ The Early History of Felt.” American Anthropologist , vol. 32, no.

1, 1930, pp. 1–18. New Series , www.jstor.org/stable/661049 . ( Book)

5. Scarlett, Tim. "A Brief History of Felt Making for Traditional Mongolian Yurts." A

Brief History of Felt Making for Traditional Mongolian Yurts . N.p., n.d. Web. 10

Nov. 2016.

6. "What Is the History of Felting?" What Is the History of Felting? Web. 10 Nov.

2016.

7. Zhou, Joanna. "About The Brand." Maqaroon . http://www.maqaroon.com.