Felt

Felt probably originated from Central Asia. Even today, Mongols make their products by felting camel hair. The technique was brought to Europe by the Avars and Huns while they progressed towards the West. This is confirmed by the fact that felting has the strongest tradition in Ugro-Finnish countries, that is, in Hungary and Finland, but the technique is today well-known all over the world where sheep are bred because it makes the exploitation of wool possible in a simple manner that may be employed even at home.

In Croatia, felting is not a separate tradition but, except for felted hats, only a procedure that follows after knitting. Long vests in Slavonia would be pressed and rolled after knitting to become stronger. Woollen socks, which were once famous in the northern Adriatic, were also felted after knitting - in their case, strength was even more important.

The delicacy of felted material also depends on the type of sheep, of course - we don't have the most quality wool, that given by marino sheep. However, harsh and long wool of Adriatic's genuine Pramenka sheep, which is not suitable for spinning and too harsh for fine textiles, is just because of these qualities excellent for shaping with this technique.

Technique

Felting is a wool processing technique based on the property of fibres to entwine into a hard structure as a result of application of pressure and heat. After carding, wool is not spun into threads but scored with water and soap, and then pressed and rolled. Due to the composition of wool thread, which is covered in scales similar to that of fish, the fibres get entwined, tangled and twisted in the process. In the end we get a thick and firm material — felt.

Making a flat piece

    1.   Prepare a working pad: a thicker towel + a wavy pad
    2.   Wool preparation: 120 g of wool divide into two layers - the first layer of horizontal thread and the second layer of vertical threads, wool needs to be divided equally
    3.   Decorate with dyed wool at will
    4.   Cover the drawing with an old drape
    5.   Wet the wool with soap and warm water and press down for 15 minutes
    6.   Roll the wool into the pad and keep rolling for about 50 times on four sides: front, back and side
    7.   Press wool to create as much foam as possible
    8.   Shortly repeat rolling on all sides (up to 20 times)
    9.   Remove the drapes and flatten the surface with a plastic bag
    10. Rinse
    11. Dry

Courses

After five years of work we have gained a lot of experience in the felting technique: we have studied from the literature, used our inspiration, creativity and experiment. We are now ready to teach others.

In cooperation with the NU Dubrava we have organised several three-year courses for pre-school teachers and short courses for the Obrovac Women Association, Vidik from Dvor, ZMERGO association from Opatija, Women's Group from Krnjak and dozens of interested persons and guests have attended our workshops in Cres.

Workshops for children are another story. Workshops for school children were organised in the "Centre" elementary school from Rijeka, Ecocentre Caput Insulae in Beli on Cres, as part of their projects "Learning about Nature", and we have been organising wool workshops for children in the "Frane Petrića" elementary school in Cres since 2003. We have worked with pre-schoolers in Cres and Zagreb - workshops with small children are more demanding and the teacher needs to be assisted by one or two volunteers. Since felting involves warm water and soap, the whole process is very interesting for children but it is also very time-consuming and physically demanding, and it, therefore, requires children to be persistent. We have seen that a ball, flower or picture may be made by anyone, but older and more skilful children sometimes also engage in more difficult tasks. The group may consist of a maximum of 25 children. The workshop does not last longer than 2 hours.

In addition to these workshops for children, we have organised a three-day felting course where the basic knowledge may be acquired, as well as some experience with the technique:

Day 1 - basic technique and making a flat object and a ball
Day 2 - making a purse and flowers
Day 3 - making slippers

A ‘Day’ in the course lasts about 3 hours for 4 to 9 persons (maximum), and they must start from the beginning (Day 1).

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