Felting between East and West

Murray Lee Eiland III


Felting: The Technique

The process of felting is simple, although in actual practice it can be more complicated, particularly when supplementary techniques are also used. The exact mechanism of felting relies upon a distinctive property of animal hairs and relates to the structure of the hair. In hot, soapy water, fibres are easily moved against one another. The fibres are able to travel in the direction of the scale pattern of the hair, but do not easily travel against the scale pattern (Taylor 1981: fig. 153; Gordon 1980: 8-10). The resulting mass of hairs are then essentially locked into place, and like the changes a ceramic undergoes with firing, the fibres - when dry - are essentially permanently felted together. Using this technique a very flexible cloth can be made. Felt has been successfully used for clothing (hats) or as a dwelling (yurts). At the same time the structure of the fabric is relatively water and wind proof.

Perhaps even more important is the use of felt as a barrier between a saddle and a beast of burden. Evidence for early saddles - as well as saddles used on modern Turkish donkeys - suggest that a rigid wooden framework is crucial (Burkett 1979: 15). A rigid structure such as this would not be usable on an animal, particularly if it is used to support weight for considerable distances without some kind of padding. A felt mat in this case is required, and one can quickly appreciate how important it is for nomads that require optimal performance from their animals.

Felting requires animal hairs, as the scales on the surface are made to interlock with one another, at the same time the fibres themselves are enmeshed by heat, humidity, and pressure. Felt making is a major industry in Tibet, where due to the cold climate felt clothing is required. The felted numdah rugs of India are also well known. A similar effect to felting is also achieved by pounding strips of the inner bark of some trees together, particularly mulberry (moraceae) and several varieties of fig, as is done by various peoples of Africa, the South Sea Islands, and parts of the Western Hemisphere. Tapa cloth made of bark from the islands of the southwest Pacific is particularly well known. Paper making can also be considered a variant of the felt making process, although in this case cellulose fibres are used instead of wool.

Felt can also be made by pounding with a stone or other object. Modern felters can also use synthetic fibres that have various thermoplastic properties, which can also be mixed with natural fibres to increase durability (Birrell 1959: 3). The resulting cloth is not damaged by water, and because of the intertwined nature of the hairs, there is considerable dead air space that is useful as insulation. Unlike a woven structure, felt is particularly vulnerable to mechanical abrasion, and is all the more delicate when wet. As a result felt bags tend to be small, and many objets of felt are not exposed to repeated stress. A felt hat is ideal, while trousers are almost never made of felt.

There are many possible ways that felt can be made. Perhaps the most straight-forward is household production, where felts is made by individuals related to one another. Unlike weaving a pile knotted carpet for example, felting requires (if it is not dragged behind a horse) a group of people to manipulate the material to felt it. Fortunately, this process is not so complicated that the individuals who apply the pressure necessarily have any input in the designs. Felting requires just one person intimately familiar with the technique. It is therefore no surprise that there can be itinerant felt makers that visit the homes of individuals who have materials to be felted (Burkett 1979: 44).

At the other end of the production scale are the craftsmen who produce felts in shops specifically designed for the purpose. In Turkey (particularly Afyon) there are the remains of felters’ guilds, and in the recent past the family emblem of the master would be stamped on the back of the felt (Burkett 1979: 77). The exact nature of these guilds is now difficult to reconstruct, as the progression from apprentice, journeyman and master are now left open to those who demonstrate skill and not those who have passed any period of time in residence or tests. One significant aspect of felt making was that in Turkey - and therefore probably other regions as well - craftsmen did not travel outside a small region: “As a result, every centre today prides itself in the belief that felt produced there is of the highest possible quality. Methods are, nevertheless, everywhere different, if only slightly so, and there can be no doubt that methodology determines quality to a considerable extent” (Gervers 1974: 23). This is a general trait of crafts that would on the surface would appear to factor towards the development of individual rather than national styles, although when taken in the context of a political boundary, tends to unify the products of a particular region in contrast to more difficult to access regions outside this boundary. This is a significant observation particularly regarding felt, which has remarkable similarities in designs stretching across a vast distance.

In Erzurum pure white felts are made in one locale, while other stores sell felts with repeating diamond designs. There are a number of felt makers in Konya. Seven shops located near each other produce kepenek, the heavy waterproof coat worn by shepherds. They also make felt rugs for the floor decorated with repeating geometric designs. While cartoons are in the workroom, they are not used while making the felt, which is done by men. The design is made by placing a dot of felt on the mat, then placing a circle around the dot, and then placing radiating lines of felt from the circle. While in Erzurum the felt making is still done in a hamam, while in Konya there are a variety of methods. In one shop men still roll the felt with their forearms, while in another the pressure is applied with “mechanical feet.” (Glassie 1993: 360-364).

It is interesting to note that despite the different methods, from traditional hand working to those that require machines, the products of these shops still conform to a broadly defined national style.