The art of making felt by rolling, beating, and pressing animal hair or flocks of wool into a compact mass of even consistency, is assuredly older then the art of spinning and weaving. It’s said to be the oldest man-made material: its story goes back 8.000 years.

Since felt is the matted fibers of sheep, it has all the virtues of wool -warm, waterproof, resilient, durable- but denser, more compact and much more versatile. It is thanks to these many properties that it’s always been used for different purposes, from transport to clothing to housing. It was the invention of a wool card in 1748 which, while bringing a decisive improvement in method, drove us away from its cultural knowhow and craftsmanship, but mostly, the ability of using the method of felting itself to give thredimensiotnality.

Infact, nowadays felt is made in long rolls as any other weaved textile, and only after it’s cut and sewed together.

This aspect together with the fact that it’s the oldest material used to make anything for anyone (humans and non), drove the imagination to the aim of using the felt-machines as if they were hands, and with the use of textile molds it was possible to create wanted voids end use the method of felting instead of stitching.

With this mindset, the feel felt project brings animals and human (kids and adults) into the same vision, giving them back the feeling of old comfort and ancestral warmth.

The experiments on the material and the technique are carried out in collaboration with Feltrificio Biellese.

Set design: Laura Tocchet
Photography: Delfino Sisto Legnani