Feltmaking is a very ancient art, although difficult to date precisely. Many wonderful stories about its origins still exist today: was it thanks to St. Christopher who, as he noticed stray wool fibers from a passing sheep left clinging to a bush, lined his sandals with the soft fleece and the sweat from his feet, the pressure of his body weight, and the friction heat from the agitation of his stepping produced felt?

Or was it created on Noah's Ark? As Noah, having foreseen the great flood, built his ark and covered the floor with sheep's wool, but as rainwater came pouring in, the stamping and trampling from people and animals moving about together added to the heat produced a flat sheet of felt.

In any case, the earliest mention of felt is in Japan during the Nara period (710 - 794). The earliest record of its presence is the presentation of a felt carpet from China to Shosoin (an ancient imperial treasure storage building located in Nara, Japan). However the nomads of Mongolia have consistently made and used felt for centuries, rolling yak hair around heavy logs and pulling the contraption over mountain steppes for a several-day journey. The resulting felt-thick and dense, with good insulation and moisture resistant properties-was used to make the portable, collapsible dwellings commonly known as "yurts."

Fleece from different sheep breeds has characteristics that vary and affect the ability of the fibres to felt. Felting ability is dependent mainly upon the length, thickness and quality of each single fibre. The fleece is first "scoured" or washed. After drying the fleece is "carded", a process which teases out and separates the fibres forming a continuous soft untwisted rope that can be used for felt making. A further carding process removes the shorter fibres, the remaining long, parallel well separated fibres are known as "tops". Good quality tops felt most easily and are available ready dyed for felt making for those who don't wish to dye their own. Merino wool is the most popular for making felt. The feltmaking process itself is fairly simple: take wool, water and soap; after layering the wool, you roll it vigorously and you will end up with felt. A matting process in fact, discovered many years before spinning and weaving yarn was invented.

Felt's uses are endless, from carpets to tents, seating to saddle blankets, clothes to hats.