Buffalo Robe
So I'm using the age old technique of felting for the base of my Buffalo Robe above are pictures of mongolian women making and sewing felt together they use it to make thier dwellings which are called yurts
Felting occurs when fiber is moist, alkaline and physically agitated. The warm water and soap causes the scales to swell open, and the filaments sang together when massaged and agitated (imagine miniature Velcro swatches connecting to each other). The knotting causes shrinkage and results in a dense strong felted fiber.
Additional fibers that alone would not felt, such as silk, can be added in small proportions to the felt, as the animal fibers will intertwine and mat around them.
This technique is called wet felting and has been practiced for thousands of years. Based on archaeological findings from the Central Asian Steppes, felting of animal hair has been a means of creating unwoven fabric for clothing, shelter, and artistic expression since at least 600 BC. There is further evidence that there may have been even earlier knowledge of the process.
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