Talk to me about Wool Felt

[claras_mom]

Here's the context: I've recently agreed to spearhead the creation of banners for our church sanctuary, on a theme of gardens/growth. They'll hang for the first time come October, through the start of Advent, then will be reused each year for Kingdomtide (the long summer/autumn season between Pentecost and Advent). I'll have about four months; with any luck at all, I'll be able to recruit a large committee of skilled, like-minded people to aid in the execution of them. There will be six total, double-sided, 3 feet wide by 10-12 feet long. Each needs to be the same/similar on each side, but the six don't have to be identical.

So at first, I thought about making them quilted--using Ruth McDowell's techniques to create patterns--and then I sat down and got a grip on myself. Maybe in this lifetime, but not before October.

Which brings us to FELT, the material used in 2 of the existing sets of banners we have. It would be really easy to create the botanical patterns, embellish them, and applique them onto big pieces of felt (and easy to direct people in doing that, unlike the quilting thing)....but what kind of felt?

My "natural family living" gut tells me 100% wool! My practical side is very softly saying, "wouldn't wool be more likely to be subject to bug damage, over the years?" I see that there are various blends out there--anything from 20% wool on up. Any thoughts about what would be best for this project? Key points:

Durability/ease of handling
How well it hangs (i.e. would one blend or another be more likely to ruffle on the long edges)
Color choices

Thanks in advance!

[Tilia]

I have seen really neat ones done in acrylic felt. I use 100% wool for toys, but honestly, in a church, it would be a big risk due to moths.

[claras_mom]

Do you think a wool blend would be less likely to attract moths and such? Or should I just suck it up, make the finance committee happy with a much lower price tag, and use acrylic?

I agree that acrylic can look just fine--we've two sets that I assume are acrylic felt (unless I could track down someone originally involved in the making of them, I don't think there's a way of knowing for sure--short of setting fire to them ). And I like them, and from a great distance, they look quite nice....


Maybe I just need to get over the romance of wool!

[Think of Winter]

I think you should also take into account how much work is going to go into these things. Wool is easier and more pleasant to work with, you can use needle felting for some of the decorations, and I would think it would last much longer, even with the possibility of moth damage. Wool carpets last forever. I guess I don't have a feel for what the cost difference would be, though. I love wool felt, but the 30% wool felt I got at Joanne's wasn't bad.

[E.V. Lowi]

Originally Posted by colleen95

I think you should also take into account how much work is going to go into these things. Wool is easier and more pleasant to work with, you can use needle felting for some of the decorations, and I would think it would last much longer, even with the possibility of moth damage. Wool carpets last forever. I guess I don't have a feel for what the cost difference would be, though. I love wool felt, but the 30% wool felt I got at Joanne's wasn't bad.

Wool felt with the woolmark label has been moth proofed and I have never had a problem with it. There is a nice selection of 100% and nice quality blends at www.weirdollsandcrafts.com and there is a quantity discount.

[claras_mom]

Aha!

I've been looking at the selection on the Weir Dolls website, so this is just the impetus I need to order the swatch cards.

[Masel]

I was under the impression that the critters what got into wool were after left over food bits and the fiber was incidentally damaged. I'd think a hanging would be in less danger. At any rate, you could pack banners away with cedar and maybe display them on cedar poles. That might be enough scent to keep the moths away.

I too like the idea of using wool. If you felt your own wool you could have a lot more colors at a lot less cost. All you'd need to do is wash and dry woven 100% wool on the hottest settings. It will shrink but the edges won't fray.