Fashioning Felt
https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18700367/
Felt is at once ancient and primitive and thoroughly modern. Thought to be one of the earliest manmade fabrics—originating over eight thousand years ago—it has recently been explored by architects and designers as an exciting “new” material. This simplest of fabrics achieves a unique sense of luxury and authenticity, derived from the humbleness of the raw material, the evidence of the hand, and the resonance of its long history. Felt is made through the vigorous application of water and energy to fiber; only wool will felt because the scaly outer surface of the fibers allows them to interlock. The term felt applies to a number of synthetic materials, but none have the range of performance characteristics of the all-natural, “wet-processed” original. Fashioning Felt examines the evolution of felt making and use, focusing on concepts from across the design field: the efficient and sustainable use of resources; flexibility in manufacturing processes and finished products; and the integration of new technologies with handcraft.
Suter combines the amorphous and unpredictable nature of felt-making with the fastidiousness of dressmaking. She gently pleats gossamer sheets of wool batting into folds, hand-stitching a strip of plastic over each fold to prevent it from felting to the background. During the felting process, the folds are transformed into organic standing ridges.
