Since Christmas is less than a week away (insert freak out here) and we showed you DIY gift ideas last week, we thought this week we would show you 3 ways to use felt to wrap some of those fabulous gifts you made. What’s even better is that felt, or any fabric, is an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional wrapping paper and can serve as a small gift itself. Felt comes in a wide array of colors and is very easy to work with as long as you have a good pair of fabric shears.

BACKGROUND:

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size.

Many cultures have legends as to the origins of feltmaking. Sumerian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by Urnamman of Lagash. The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.

Feltmaking is still practised by nomadic peoples in Central Asia and northern parts of East Asia, where rugs, tents and clothing are regularly made. Some of these are traditional items, such as the classic yurt, while others are designed for the tourist market, such as decorated slippers. In the Western world, felt is widely used as a medium for expression in textile art as well as design, where it has significance as an ecological textile.

history of felt

image via