Everything you need to know about craft felt

In many handicraft workshops, people use felt to make badges, toys, flowers, accessories, and other decorative items. But it often happens that when they first try to create something beautiful from this material, craftsmen face many problems.

To avoid unsuccessful attempts at making crafts, you must first familiarize yourself with the properties of felt. In this article, we will tell you how to create this material, take a closer look at its varieties, as well as processing and selection features.

Handicraft felt is a dense non-woven fabric made by dry felting goat, sheep or rabbit wool, in some cases with the addition of other fibers. The textile material is made using the same technology as felt, but using a softer and softer animal backing. To make the soft fabric more elastic and dense, it is additionally steamed at high temperatures. In stores, felt is sold in pre-cut sheets or in rolls like regular fabrics.

Felt fabric opens up a huge space for needlewomen for creativity, because it is produced in a wide palette of bright and pastel shades. Craftsmen have the opportunity to choose the amount of material based on their own needs, because it is sold both in small cuts and in multi-meter rolls. The compressed web can be processed in two different ways: stitching and gluing with special glue. Felt does not require additional processing of the edges, because non-woven felted wool does not crumble.

Felt sheets are often used to make toys, key chains, and appliqués. Mothers can even attract babies from 3 years old to the fascinating process of creating crafts, because working with this material is very simple and fun. The needlewomen often sew pretty jewelry from pressed bright wool, for example: badges, brooches, earrings, headbands and necklaces. Materials of rich colors can be used for festive decoration of rooms, decorating photo albums and creating educational books for children.

It is important to remember that felt made of natural wool cannot be washed in hot water: from this effect the natural fiber will deform and shrink. You need to be very careful about the cleanliness of crafts from such a canvas, because it is very soft and wrinkles easily.

Pressed soft wool is most often produced in a solid color, but sometimes there are models with a print or pattern. Such felt is rarely found on sale and is in less demand, but that is why crafts made from it look very original and unusual. Each type of material has its own advantages: a simple colored sheet is an excellent basis for various unobtrusive children's crafts, and bright material with a print is best used in light decorations so that the drawing looks as advantageous as possible.

Depending on the manufacturing method, felt is divided into two categories: according to the composition and thickness of the finished material. We propose to consider in more detail the characteristics of non-woven textile fabric, depending on the type of production.

Initially, felt was made only from the soft wool of various animals, but over time, viscose and synthetic fibers began to be added to the composition. As a result, on store shelves, you can find sheets of pressed material similar to each other, which will differ significantly in physical properties. We propose to consider in more detail the classification of felted fiber by the type of its composition.

• 100% wool fabric. Products made of wool lend themselves well to processing and keep their shape for a long time. The wool material is pleasant to the touch and looks very aesthetically pleasing, but it also has disadvantages. Wool sometimes causes allergies, so before choosing 100% natural material, you need to make sure in advance that your body or the body of a child is not affected by its negative effects. If washed incorrectly, the compressed wool fiber deforms and shrinks. If the product accidentally gets wet, it will give off an unpleasant odor.

• Wool blend material. Such a product usually consists of one half of wool and the other half of viscose or acrylic. Semi-wool is less allergenic than wool and does not cause itching after prolonged contact with the skin. When combining wool and viscose, a smooth, soft and fluffy material is obtained. The disadvantage of semi-wool is that it cannot hold its shape in large crafts, so it is better to use it for small items. Wet material loses its shape and may shed, so it must be washed very carefully.

• Fully artificial fabric. Synthetic felt is made from acrylic or polyester. Such a canvas is much cheaper than others, it is easy to shape and clean. The material will hold its shape well - both in large and small crafts. The disadvantages of viscose fabric are slippery surfaces and an unpleasant creaking sound when rubbed.Polyester nonwoven felt is the cheapest, strongest and most durable material, but due to its properties it pollutes the environment when it becomes unusable.

• Bamboo felt. Recently, products made from bamboo fiber have become more and more popular, so manufacturers began to create felt from it. Such material is the safest for children: it has hypoallergenic and bactericidal properties. The canvas is easily stained, does not fade, its surface is soft and silky to the touch.

• Modeled canvas. Unusual felt with unique properties that make it easy to shape the fabric into various shapes. The nonwoven fabric is impregnated with a special solution that softens from contact with water and hardens after drying. After wetting such felt, it is enough to model it and leave it to dry. The material to be modeled will hold its shape and size until it gets wet again.

Felt is classified by thickness: on store shelves, you can find canvas with a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm. It is imperative that you familiarize yourself with the characteristics of each material in order to select the most appropriate density for your needs. Let's take a closer look at what felt of different thicknesses are used for.

• 0.5 to 2 mm. Thin material 0.5-1 mm wide is usually used to create appliqués, because it is too fragile for bulky crafts. A sheet of pressed fiber with a density of 2 mm can already be used to make key rings, badges and small toys. You can also make jewelry, accessories and decorative items from such felt.

• 2.5 to 3.5 mm. A fairly dense non-woven fabric that can be used for complex crafts with a lot of detail. Felt 2.5 mm thick is perfect for making large figures with three-dimensional elements. The material, which is 3mm wide, is suitable for making cute doll hats or small real hats. You can also sew such accessories from it: a case for a phone or tablet, a small bag and a cosmetic bag.

• 4 to 5 mm. Felt of this thickness belongs to technical fabrics and is rarely used for needlework. Most often, dense material serves as upholstery or filling for furniture. However, if you have a desire to try to make something unusual from such a canvas, then you do not need to stop yourself, because there are no boundaries for creativity.

In order for the felt craft to be pretty or to fulfill its purpose well, you need to choose the right canvas. The material varies in composition, thickness, characteristics and properties, and can also have varying degrees of rigidity. We propose to consider several types of crafts and a suitable type of felt for them.

• Children's applications. For children's creativity, it is better to choose a special set with hard felt and the tools necessary for work.
• Stuffed Toys. To make toys with filling, you need to choose a soft material of medium thickness so that the crafts are nicely plump and round.
• Flowers and decorations. To create accessories and flowers, needlewomen most often choose soft sheets of pressed fiber: they easily curl into buds and gently fold into petals.
• Tablet or phone case. For such purposes, it is best to purchase hard felt with a thickness of 2 mm or more: it will keep its shape well and protect the gadget from minor damage.
• Developing children's book. For the pages, use a dense and hard felt that will hold its shape well, and for appliqués, you can use a medium-thick material.
• Bows. Such a craft can be made from both soft and hard felt: in the first case, the bow will be soft and streamlined, and in the second, with strict and clear creases.

As mentioned above, compressed felt can be processed in two ways: stitching or gluing. Also, if necessary, you can combine these methods of fastening parts, so that the result of the work is as neat and clean as possible. To sew parts of the craft, needlewomen use ordinary polyester sewing thread to match. For finishing seams, it is better to use floss threads of a contrasting color: they add charm, home comfort and warmth to the craft. High-quality floss threads do not fade, so there is no need to be afraid that they will leave marks on the felt of a different shade.

Joining with glue is much faster and more invisible than using threads, but it requires a high concentration and accuracy of needlewomen. To fasten the parts of the craft in this way, silicone glue is most often used, which is heated in a special thermal gun.