The wool is washed and opened, then combed with a bow or a metal comb. Several layers of combed wool are laid on a mat which is sprayed with warm water.

Then the mat is rolled and laid on a machine that crushes, beats and rolls it.

At the end of this procedure the fibers are tangled up, the felt is folded and formed into the form of a coat. An additional layer of combed wool is put on the form of the coat.

The mat is rolled again and put in the machine until a sufficient density and solidity is obtained. The mat is then unrolled and the coat is dried outside in the open air. When the coat is completely dry, some parts are removed with a knife to create openings, then the coat is ready to be worn.

These felt coats are hardened by successive coats of glue, covered with supple, elastic and glossy silk, then with pearl powder. On these white and reflective surfaces, shadows are drawn with charcoal, colors and Indian ink. The coat of light is about to be born.

Several legends illustrate the origins of felt. In the 5 th century C.E, Atilla, king of the Huns placed a bear skin on the rump of his horse. At the end of the horse ride, the hairs were transformed into a sturdy fabric. The felting technique, however, had been completely mastered a long time before in Asia. A discovery in the scythian tombs at Pazyryk in the Altai, near Mongolia is proof of its existence in the 5 th B.C.E. century. Some Chinese documents dating from 2300 B.C.E refer to the use of felt. A legend from the time of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent recalls that his son wanted to create a new fabric, without warp and weft. As his investigations were unfruitful, out of desperation he stamped his feet and cried on the heap of wool, which to his great astonishment turned into a dense and solid fabric.

Felting seems a very ancient technique; the domestication of sheep may have promoted this technique and the nomadic way of life may explain its endurance and its development across Millennia, in Europe, Africa, North and South America and in Asia.

Abraham Pincas