How Felt Evolved From Nomadic Tents To A Craft Kit Staple

Most people know felt as the colourful material found in craft kits, Christmas decorations and handmade ornaments. It's easy to cut, simple to sew and forgiving enough for complete beginners, making it one of the most popular materials in modern crafting.

What many people don't realise is that felt has actually been around for thousands of years. Long before it appeared in embroidery projects and felt sewing kits, it was helping people survive some of the harshest environments on Earth. 

Across the vast grasslands of Central Asia, felt insulated homes, protected families from freezing temperatures and travelled alongside nomadic communities as they moved with their livestock from one season to the next. Few materials have played such an important role in daily life for so long.

Its journey from the grasslands of Mongolia to the modern craft room is a fascinating one. Along the way, felt became a building material, a trade commodity, a fashion staple and eventually a favourite of makers around the world.

The Textile That Didn't Need A Loom

Unlike cotton, linen or silk, felt isn't woven.

Instead of being created from threads, felt is made by compressing fibres together until they form a dense and durable fabric. Traditionally, these fibres were wool, which remains one of the best materials for felt production today.

The secret lies in the structure of wool itself. Each fibre is covered in tiny scales that begin to lock together when exposed to moisture, heat and friction. As the fibres tangle and compress, they gradually form a solid sheet of material without the need for weaving or knitting.

This simple process produces a remarkably practical textile. Felt is warm, durable, naturally insulating and easy to work with. It can be cut without fraying and shaped into a wide variety of forms. These qualities help explain why it became so valuable long before modern manufacturing existed.

For communities living in challenging environments, felt offered something incredibly important: versatility.

Why Nomadic Communities Relied On Felt

To understand the importance of felt, it helps to understand the environment where it became most widely used.

The grasslands of Central Asia stretch across enormous distances, covering parts of modern day Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and neighbouring countries. Winters can be bitterly cold, summers intensely hot and strong winds are a constant feature of the landscape. For centuries, many communities here lived nomadic lifestyles, moving seasonally with their sheep, goats, horses and camels in search of fresh grazing land.

This way of life demanded practical solutions.

Homes needed to be portable. Clothing needed to provide warmth without being too heavy. Everyday items needed to withstand constant travel. Felt answered all of these challenges.

Made from the wool of animals that were already central to nomadic life, felt was readily available and highly adaptable. Families used it for bedding, blankets, storage bags, clothing and horse equipment. It insulated against cold weather while remaining breathable enough for warmer months. Perhaps most importantly, it could be rolled up and transported as communities moved across the landscape.

In many parts of Central Asia, felt wasn't simply another textile. It was one of the foundations of daily life.

The Material Behind The Yurt

If there is one object that demonstrates the importance of felt better than anything else, it is the traditional yurt.

Known as a ger in Mongolia, the yurt has served as a portable home for nomadic communities for centuries. Built around a collapsible timber frame, it was designed to be assembled, dismantled and transported with relative ease.

While the wooden structure provided the framework, it was the felt covering that made the yurt functional.

Large sheets of felt were wrapped around the walls and roof, creating an insulating barrier against wind, rain and extreme temperatures. During winter, additional layers could be added for extra warmth. During summer, coverings could be adjusted to improve airflow. The effectiveness of this design is one reason yurts remain in use today.

Long before modern insulation materials existed, felt was providing comfortable living conditions in some of the world's most demanding climates. Entire households depended on it. Without felt, the nomadic lifestyle that shaped so much of Central Asian history would have been far more difficult to sustain.

How Felt Travelled Beyond Central Asia

As trade routes expanded across Asia, felt began appearing far beyond the grasslands where it first became essential.

The Silk Road connected distant cultures through a vast network of trading routes stretching from China to Europe. Merchants carried spices, ceramics, precious metals and textiles across thousands of kilometres, but goods were only part of the exchange. Skills, techniques and ideas travelled too, and felt making was among them.

As felt spread into new regions, local communities adapted it to their own needs and traditions. In Persia, felt became increasingly decorative, appearing in rugs, furnishings and ceremonial objects that showcased intricate patterns and craftsmanship. In Anatolia - modern day Turkiye - felt making developed into a highly respected craft, with artisans creating garments, carpets and decorative pieces using techniques refined over centuries. Many of these traditions survive today, with workshops continuing to produce felt by hand much as they did generations ago.

Elsewhere, felt found practical applications beyond the nomadic lifestyle that had first popularised it. It appeared in footwear, saddle blankets, wall coverings and household furnishings. Communities valued it for many of the same reasons nomadic peoples had centuries earlier. It was durable, insulating and capable of withstanding heavy use. Yet it was also highly adaptable, allowing artisans to experiment with colour, pattern and decoration in ways that transformed it from a purely functional material into a form of artistic expression.

This ability to serve both practical and decorative purposes helped felt remain relevant as societies evolved. The same material that insulated a yurt on the Mongolian steppe could become a finely crafted rug in Persia or a ceremonial textile in Turkey. Few materials were as versatile, and fewer still travelled so successfully across different cultures while retaining their usefulness.

When Europe Fell In Love With Felt Hats

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, felt had found a completely new audience: fashion.

Felt hats became an essential part of everyday dress across Europe and North America. Top hats, bowlers and fedoras all relied on felt manufacturing techniques that had been refined over generations.

The felt hat industry grew rapidly, employing thousands of workers and becoming a major part of the textile economy. At the same time, manufacturers began using felt in industrial applications, taking advantage of its durability and insulating properties.

It appeared in machinery, filtration systems and engineering equipment, proving once again that felt could adapt to changing needs. Many traditional materials faded as industrialisation accelerated, but felt simply found new purposes.

Why Felt Remains Popular For Craft Materials Today

The modern revival of felt has less to do with survival and more to do with creativity.

Artists, textile designers and hobby crafters have embraced felt because it remains one of the easiest and most versatile materials to work with. It doesn't fray, requires minimal equipment and lends itself to a wide range of projects, from ornaments and wall hangings to embroidered artwork and soft sculpture.

It also aligns perfectly with the growing interest in screen free hobbies. Many people are looking for creative activities that offer a break from digital devices and busy schedules. Felt projects provide exactly that. They are tactile, approachable and satisfying to complete, making them particularly appealing to beginners.

The rise of modern felt craft kits has introduced felt to a whole new audience. Today, people who may never have picked up a needle and thread can create detailed decorative projects using carefully designed kits that include everything needed to get started. The material may be ancient, but its appeal feels surprisingly modern.

From The Mongolian Steppe To The Modern Craft Room

Few materials have remained relevant for as long as felt.

Over thousands of years it has sheltered families, insulated homes, travelled trade routes, inspired artisans, supported industries and encouraged creativity. Throughout each chapter of its history, the qualities that made felt valuable have remained remarkably consistent.

Put simply, felt is practical, versatile and durable. Perhaps that's why felt continues to resonate with makers today. Every handmade ornament, embroidered flower or felt craft project is part of a much longer story, one that stretches back to the nomadic communities of Central Asia and the portable homes that once depended on this humble material.

Not many craft supplies can claim a history quite as remarkable as that. The next time you open a felt craft kit or stitch together a handmade ornament, remember that you're working with a material that has travelled an extraordinary path. 

Try Felt Crafting For Yourself With Foxglove Society

One of the reasons felt has remained popular for so long is its accessibility. It's easy to work with, forgiving for beginners and incredibly versatile. If you’re inspired to pick up a needle and thread, explore one of our craft kits designed for relaxing, screen free creativity.