Popular Science on Wool Felt - What is it？

Felted wool is an ancient and enduring textile, with its crafting techniques dating back to Roman times. It’s a well-known handcraft in Europe.

There are many legends about the origin of felted wool, and one of the most intriguing is the tale of Saint Clement, the patron saint of Western shoemakers and hatters. According to the story, Saint Clement was fleeing from enemies and running desperately through the woods. His feet became increasingly hot and painful, but he had to continue escaping his pursuers. He came across some wool in the forest and stopped to gather it. He wrapped the wool around his aching feet to ease the pain, then put his feet back into his shoes and continued his flight. When he finally reached a safe place and removed his feet from his shoes, he discovered that they had turned into a pair of felted shoes. From then on, felted wool became widely used in religious rituals, believed to drive away evil spirits and bring good fortune.

Later on, people discovered that wool had high-quality properties such as non-woven texture, seamless formation, warmth, water resistance, fire resistance, colorfastness, and thermal insulation. This led to the use of wool as a premium material for handcrafted art, elevating felted wool crafts to the realm of art.