Thick felt

Types of Thick Felt

Felt is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing together fibres. This ancient fabric is syncretic, often made out of wool, hair, cotton, and even synthetics such as viscose and polyester. Wool felt is smoothed and compressed to produce thick felt. Wool is malleable, allowing it to be shaped into complex forms. It is also elastic, and is able to return to its original shape even after it has been stretched. Cotton felt, on the other hand, is produced from cotton, a natural plant fibre.

Unlike wool felt, which is usually coarse, cotton felt has a smooth finish, with a consistency similar to cardboard. Cotton felt is thinner than wool felt and is harder and stiffer than wool felt.

Synthetic fibres such as viscose, acrylic, and polyethylene are also used to produce felt. Viscose felt is smooth and can be shaped into complex forms. Acrylic felt is produced from acrylic fibres. These fibres are coarse, producing a stiff felt that is rarely used in quality upholstery. Polyethylene felt is produced from polyethylene, a plastic used to produce thick felt sheets. This felt has excellent insulating properties and is resistant to mould and mildew. This plastic is also resistant to chemicals, water, and UV rays.

Commercially, felt is available in sheets of different colours and thicknesses. Thick felt fabric is a staple material in many industries. Its strength, durability, and flexibility make it ideal in construction. Its acoustic and thermal insulating properties also make it a key component in sound and heat insulation.

Features of Thick Felt

Felt is one of the most ancient fabrics. This fabric has stood the test of time because of the versatility of its many features. Felt is virtually water resistant and is often used to make roofs of houses, especially in roofing in areas that have a lot of rainfall. Felt is also resistant to flames and can therefore be used to make fire retardant clothing and blankets. Felt is even used in making pads for furniture and flooring because of its ability to absorb sound, i.e., acoustic insulation.

When felt is manufactured from wool fibres, the fabric is lint-free. Felt does not ravel or fray at the edges. This makes it very low maintenance. Felt fabric also has a dense fibrous structure that gives it a soft tactile feel and look. Felt is usually thick but there is a relatively thin variant. Heavyweight felt has a thickness in the range of 1.5-5mm. This makes it great for heavy-duty projects and work.

Felt fabric also comes in a myriad of colours. It is even possible to buy natural coloured felt that doesn’t have any synthetic dyes. Felt has a rigid and compact structure that gives it excellent shaping properties. This makes it ideal for making 3-dimensional shapes. Woolfelt, especially, is able to morph into sculptures, bags, hats, and shoes.

Felt is used in crafts such as needle felting, wet felting, and millions of other projects for adults and kids. Needle felting has been described as an even more meticulous form of crafting than wet felting. Adults and children also use colourful thick felt for art and craft projects. Craft felt is thin and stiff, and comes in bright colours.

Uses of Thick Felt

Heavy felt is used in many industries. In construction, it is used for roofing and flooring. In the fashion industry, felt is used to make hats, handbags, and shoes. Felt is even used in architecture and interior design due to its aesthetic value.

Felt roofing uses a type of felt called tar and gravel roofs. This type of roofing is used in homes with flat or low-sloped roofs. The felt is embedded in hot asphalt. The felt acts as an auxiliary water-resistant layer between the asphalt and the roof deck. It also acts as a fire retardant. However, felt roofing is hardly used in today’s modern construction methods. Most felt roofing is manufactured from polyethylene or plastic. This is because polyethylene is resistant to water, chemicals, and UV rays.

Felt is also used in flooring as an underlayment for carpets, hardwood, and luxury vinyl flooring. It is a low-cost solution that reduces noise transmission, prolongs the life of the floor, and increases comfort when walking on the floor. Felt backing also reduces the risk of moisture damage to the floor.

The fashion industry uses felt to manufacture accessories such as handbags and hats. The compact composition of the felt gives these products a firm structure that is still flexible. This modern industry uses synthetic felt made from polyester to manufacture these products.

In architecture, felt is used to create felt-clad furniture and installations. This transforms felt from an industrial material to an artistic medium. Interior designers also use felt in wall treatments and installations. This gives interiors a modern look and feel.

Heavy-duty felt is also used when making pads for machines, pieces of furniture, and flooring materials. These pads protect sensitive surfaces from scratches and dents. They also absorb shocks and vibrations, thus prolonging the life of products.

How to Choose Thick Felt

Boeing 747 planes are made with a special type of felt called aircraft felt. It is ultra-light but very strong and durable, perfect for making a plane fly. There is also pool table felt that makes the balls roll perfectly. What about craft felt that comes in many fun colours for making cool projects?

Heavy-duty felt is ideal for tough jobs that require strong and thick felt. It is great when making felt pads for large machines like saws and mills. Artist quality felt is made with wool fibres, which are stronger than regular wool, or man-made fibres. This type of felt is high-density and designed for making sculptures. The fibres mesh together tightly to create a solid fabric that holds its shape.

Artists use matte acrylic felt to make thick, multi-coloured, durable sculptures. The matte finish gives the sculptures a natural, earthy look. Acrylic also allows the felt to come in bold colours like electric blue and lava red. These stand out more than wool felt. The fibres of the acrylic felt are stiffer than wool. This makes them ideal for sculpting sharp shapes and angles.

Wet felting uses soapy water to mat the fibres together. This creates a seamless blend between colours. Needle felting presses the fibres down more precisely for detailed designs. Both methods shape acrylic felt into unique forms.

When choosing a thick felt, felt density, thickness, texture, colour, and quality are key considerations. The density of the felt will affect the stiffness and flexibility of the final product. This will, in turn, influence the texture of the finished project. Wet felting produces a different texture from needle felting even when the same material is used. The colour can also affect the progress and end result of the felting technique used.

Q & A

What makes felt so durable?

The fibres of the wool are elastic and can shrink back even after being stretched. Wool felt can be compacted, allowing it to be moulded into complex three-dimensional shapes. This is in addition to the matting, condensing, and pressing that is originally used to make it. Once compacted, the scales on the wool fibres interlock. This makes wool felt sturdy and resilient to wear.

How can one tell high-quality felt?

High-quality felt is usually dense, thick, and heavy, with a uniform texture and colour. It should feel soft and velvety to touch, with a consistent matte surface that lacks shine. Quality felt material will not shed, fray, or pill and will have wool-like smells and sounds.

How is felt thickness measured?

The thickness or felt density is measured in millimetres. Felt that is thicker than 1mm is considered heavy felt. Felt that is less than 1mm thick is classified as thin felt. It is often used to make arts and crafts.

Is felt waterproof?

Felt is water resistant, especially when used in roofing, flooring, and furniture applications. However, it is not completely waterproof in the sense that water will seep through it.