Whiptips - purchasing felt
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Hi, I’m wondering if anyone has some advice on purchasing felt that is thicker than ordinary craft felt. I’ve seen some wonderful projects in Japanese craft books but as I can’t read Japanese I’m not sure what kind of felt they are recommending for the more sturdy bags, and I’m not sure where to purchase thick felt in the US. Can anyone help me? Thanks! Kris
September 9th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
I am a total amateur and I am sure you will get some more expert answers than me. But still…I am procrastinating so I shall answer anyway.
I buy 100% wool felt on ebay from a local (AUstralian) seller - it’s obviously factory produced (very even dye, quite thin, even consistency, perfect rectangles) and not quite as thick as wool felt I’ve bought (and just generally manhandled) in Steiner toy shops but it’s cheaper. Steiner toys stores (in real life and online) are a good place to look for wool felt, really really lusciously bouncy and thick. Good especially I think for things that will be played with or worn or used a lot (like bags, toys etc). I am sure there are some other craft stores too. And i have a feeling that there was once a post on whipup about the best place to buy wool felt online, that covered various regions. An Australian example is http://www.winterwoodtoys.com.au/ Really good felt is not cheap but the quality is superb.
I’ve also knitted up a loose square and chucked it in the washing machine on a hot wash cycle with a pair of jeans, which results in a lovely thick felt, delicious to cut and surprisingly easy and effective to work with, though a lot more bobbly and uneven (in my experience) than the Steiner/ebay felt. Which probably says as much about my inexperience as anything.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
At least 30% wool felt (the rest being viscose or rayon) is sufficiently good enough for felt projects in japanese book projects. (these books usually just state “feruto” i.e. felt! ). Acrylic will be bad for tiny projects as the stitches won’t ‘hold’. I don’t think you need to splurge on 100% felt unless you are making stuff for kids.
For bags, you probably want thick industrial felt (these come in all sorts of wool/acrylic + other stuff variety I believe). They are really expensive though from what I heard.
September 9th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I did a post on this a while back: http://whipup.net/2007/01/23/thick-felt/
September 10th, 2007 at 1:03 am
I have several links to stores selling wool felt and wool-blend felt on my blog, right margin. http://oldschoolacres.typepad.com/old_school_acres/
Whip Up linked to a blog post I did about wool felt vs acrylic felt here: http://whipup.net/2007/02/08/wool-vs-acrylic-felt/
September 10th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Even big stores like JoAnn Fabrics sells 100% wool felt - it’s about $8/yard. Instead of being sold in the craft section in little rectangles, it’s with the fabrics and sold by the yard. It’s thicker and sturdier but they don’t seem to have much of a selection of vibrant colors.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I bought a handbag years ago that was made of felt. It was so thick and sturdy. I asked at the shop and they said it was millinery felt. I did a bit of looking around. The first place I found that sells it is http://www.torbandreiner.com/felt.htm. I’m only giving the link as a starting place. I know nothing about the company or their product. Good luck.
September 10th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
If it’s $8/yard, it’s unlikely to be 100% wool felt (if it is, you’ll make a mint buying it all and reselling it on the Internet).
JoAnn normally carries 70%/30% rayon/wool felt (some colors are 80/20). It’s dyeable (though not like 100% wool - use an all-purpose dye). The signs in my store say
WOOL FELT
100% Polyester
to my great amusement, but the bolt ends are (one hopes) accurate. In any event, it *is* thicker and of more consistent quality than the acrylic craft felt, but is still not anything like the wool felt I get from Intercal (which I use for a needlefelting base on things like poor neglected Teddy Fox: http://www.silverseams.com/blog/patterns/2006/09/teddy-fox-pattern.html)
Intercal’s wool (www.intercaltg.com) is really nice (and I mean *really* nice), but for a purse I’d likely go with industrial felt just for the thickness. Though I suppose one might try fulling the Intercal stuff in the washing machine for that. Or using fulled-in-the-washer sweaters from the thrift store instead, which is what I do for purses.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Thick felt in amazing colors:
http://www.thefeltpeople.com/pages/colorcards/durafeltcard.htm
September 11th, 2007 at 3:48 am
also in some Japanese craftbooks they use both felt, and low pile felt like carpet (as can probably be bought at home depot) for a stiffer material.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Joann’s does have 100% wool on a bolt, but it is $14.99 a yard. I know because when there is nothing I really need I use my coupon on it and buy a few yards. It only comes in a natural color. I have dyed it with kool aid and it comes out beautifully. It is much thicker, softer, and nicer than the blends.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
in japan now, just went to a crafty shop.
i saw 3 types of craft felt here:
acrylic (although denser than the ones in aus)
80% wool ones (not sure what the other 10% and 10% were)
and 100% wool ones.
at the hyaku-en shops: these were (of course) acrylic ones
September 11th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Hello Kris!
I would like to recommend a company called National Nonwovens, which manufactures felt in a variety of blends, with hues to die for, right here in the U.S. They are also super friendly and will send you a hefty catalog and color swatches, for free, upon request. I am so very pleased with this company not only because they are affordable, but they also deliver in a timely manner. National Nonwovens is a wholesale company, which means you will essentially get all of your supplies at half the price of what a retail store charges, however your initial order will be no less than $200. Request a catalog and see for yourself! Happy crafting!!!
National Nonwovens Felt
http://www.nationalnonwovens.com/Applications/c&h.htm
xo,
Sue
September 12th, 2007 at 7:44 am
That’s not a bad price for wool felt, Debby. Wish my JoAnns carried it… one doesn’t even carry the blends on a regular basis, and the other takes a long time to restock if a color runs out.
Kool-Aid dyes (and other acid dyes, like food coloring drops) are great fun on all-wool felt. It’s a huge advantage over the blends, since rayon doesn’t take acid dyes. I’m seriously torn between using the huge assortment of pre-dyed wool to make my own felt, and using the white felt and dyeing it, when I get around to making another sun conure (yes, the first one is made from cheezy acrylic craft felt).
September 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I’d really second the recommendation for winterwood toys given by Penni. Great range of colours and thicknesses and types of felt. If you think about the cost on a per finished item basis, the investment doesn’t hurt so much and you will be glad when the finished item lasts for years.
You can make thin wool felt more lush by felting it further. I bought a large piece of plain white 100% wool felt and felted it in the washing machine (hot wash, long cycle). It shrinks and thickens. You can also use hot water dyes on it and felt it further that way. This is a cheaper way to get a good thickness.
A lot of toy makers also use felt blanket and felted knits - hot machine washed pure wool blankets and jumpers (sweaters) shrunk into thick fabric. This is very cost effective if you can source your blankets and knits from op shops. If you do this, it can be difficult to work with the thicker felts that result. Best choices are lightweight knits and blankets.
You can also make your own felt either from raw wool rovings, or even easier from prelaid felt batts. This gives you a lot of choice about colours, patterns, thickness and so on. Felting is of course a craft in its own right, and very rewarding, though unlikely to save you money over commercial felts.
September 15th, 2007 at 1:47 am
I’ve found some gorgeous wool melton (or wool/acrylic blends) at my local Fabricland (I’m in Canada) I’ve even snagged some for as little as $5 per metre! You can also be brave and try felting some, either by hand or in your washing machine, to get a heavier fabric.
September 15th, 2007 at 3:00 am
Thank you to everyone for such great replies!
September 18th, 2007 at 12:15 am
I work for a small dress supplies shop in Seattle Washington, Nancy’s Sewing Basket. We carry both 100% wool felt and wool rayon blends and industial felt that is 1/4 inch thick. We always have it in stock and especially during holiday craft season. It is all 72″ wide. 100% wool runs 60 dollars a yard and wool blends are 18 dollars a yard, industrial is 36 a yard. You can buy as little as 1/8 yard. W ship all over the country. Call for colors 206-282-9112 for current color stock.