What is the difference between felted wool that you buy at quilt shops and felt that you buy at Walmart?

Question

I have a pattern that calls for felted wool. I would like to know if the felts are the same or are they processesd or made different. Is the one at walmart wool?

Answer 1

The one at WalMart is generally not wool. At fabric stores they sometimes carry both wool and poly felts. Check the end of the fabric bolts and it should say what it is made of. If you are buying the squares (even though they are actually rectangles) they are most likely not wool but the poly.

Some Joann's and Hancock's will carry the wool felt but I have not used them so I don't know if they are the same quality as what they carry in the quilt stores.

If it can hold up to an iron, it's wool. Otherwise, it's poly of some sort. (when testing, make sure you use a press cloth or be prepared to clean your iron!)

Answer 2

Check the fiber content. It's been a loooong time since I bought craft felt, but if I remember correctly, it's a polyester blend. Depending on what you're using it for, it may or may not work as well. For the record, I love felted wool and I always felt it myself--which isn't hard to do at all.

Answer 3

Walmarts wool is massed produced by factories that deal with wholesalers, importing, exporting... usually good products but poor quality in withstanding time. Others are hand made using older techniques. This is what gives it the durability to withstand time. If you note you will feel the old technique used gives the fabric a thicker, softer feel. The walmart brand is thinner and rougher to the touch.

Answer 4

I would be willing to bet the walmart felt is synthetic. With fabrics you really do get what you pay for. There can be a big difference in quality.

Answer 5

the felt that they sell at wal-mart is man-made materials, where as felted wool is wool.
kind of like polyester versus cotton