Posted
on September 15, 2014
Many
of us wear hats a lot less than most people in history did. Felt was
a common material for men's hats worn in fall and winter, back in the
day, and today is a typical “it's getting to be fall” sort of day
for men to get their felt hats out of the closet, dust them off, and
begin to wear them again.
Today
we are urged to commemorate this once-crucial accessory by wearing a
felt hat.
What
is felt?
Have
you ever seen a felt tree? Or maybe a felt bush?
The
answer, of course, is “no.” Because felt isn't a material made
from a particular plant, but instead is a textile that is made by
matting and pressing together fibers. Felt can be thick or thin, soft
or tough—but its edges do not unravel, which makes it an
easy-to-use fabric.
Felt
can be made of wool (which of course comes from the shearing of
sheep) or from other animal fibers. Felt can also be made from
synthetic (artificial) fibers such as acrylic. Plant fibers such as
cotton cannot be made into felt.
You
can make felt by washing animal fibers such as wool, mohair, alpaca
is warm, soapy water. The fibers swell up, and the scales on the
protein fibers push outwards. Then you agitate the fiber in the warm,
soapy water, causing the scales to grab onto one another and tangle
with each other. Now we say that the fiber has been felted.
This
felting technique also explains why plant fibers don't felt, because
the plant fibers are made of cellulose and don't have scales. No
scales to grab onto one another means no felt.
Some
of the nomadic people in Central Asia felt animal fibers in order to
make their yurts, clothing, and tourist items such as decorated
slippers.
Felt
hats include men's styles, women's styles, cowboy hats, and costume
hats.
Celebrate!
Also
on this date:
Author/ illustrator Tomie de Paola's birthday
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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