Felting
From Free net encyclopedia
Felting is the process by which wool fiber is matted into a fabric. Wool fibers have scales and are also crimped; when these fibers are wetted, softened, and then rubbed together, they bond to each other and become permanently affixed.
Felting is done by a chemical process in industry. It is also sometimes done with barbed needles, which grab individual fibers and drag them against their neighbors, thereby binding them.
Historically, the felting process used mercury nitrate. Over time, exposure to mercury could lead to dementia. Hatters, who used large amounts of felt, were often exposed to mercury vapours over long periods of time, leading to the expression "Mad as a hatter".
Felting is an ancient form of wool processing, the earliest examples dating to Neolithic times. It is still practiced by nomadic peoples in Asia, where rugs, tents and clothing are regularly made..
Felting differs from fulling in the sense that fulling is fabric that is constructed before continuing with the felting process as noted above.
- See also: felt, Mad Hatter.fi:Huovutus