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Felt: fibres matted together with heat, moisture and friction rather than woven

Research finding · not yet checked at the source

Date: before weaving (traditional claim); firm evidence from 5th–3rd century BCE (Pazyryk)
Place: Central Asia (origin unknown)
Materials: wool, fur, hair
Themes: Rug-making techniques

View at the source Cited in chapter 1, notes 10, 11

Cite this source

“Felt: fibres matted together with heat, moisture and friction rather than woven.” Research note. britannica.com/technology/felt.

Research notes

How it works: Britannica defines felt as fabric made by interlocking wool, fur or some hair fibres under heat, moisture and friction. No adhesive is needed. Other fibres felt only when mixed with wool. In industrial felting the wet batts are first hardened (pressed by a platen or rollers) and then fulled, which can shrink the area by up to about 50 percent. Antiquity: Britannica says non-woven felts are considered the first textile goods produced. A commercial blog (Contrado) says felt is thought to be over 5,000 years old and from Asia, but no archaeological source for that figure turned up. Firm evidence for felt floor and wall coverings in this set is the Pazyryk material (see process-felt-pazyryk-hangings). A search for older excavated felt found none. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/technology/felt · https://www.britannica.com/technology/felting · https://www.contrado.com/blog/what-is-felt Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.