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FELT SPECIAL Fur Wool
comes from various animals, including sheep such as Merino, goats such as cashmere, and alpaca. Commercial wool felt is generally a mix of different wools selected to create the ideal mix
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Wool felt Wool felt is widely used commercially in hat making as it is less expensive than fur felt while still offering many of the benefits of providing warmth, durability and water-repellency (although not at the same level of effectiveness). Wool felt can be bought in a wide
variety of colours, shapes and sizes. Wool
Innovators and experts
Over 30 years ago the Worshipful Company of Feltmakers, under the leadership of Past Master William Horsman, created a competition to encourage students to produce designs and promote the use of felt. The prestigious Feltmakers Design Award offers seven prize categories, with discretionary funds available for winners to pursue more education or business needs. The judges are all from the industry (royal milliner Frederick Fox was one of the original judges). William handed over the reins of the Feltmakers Award to Rachel Trevor-Morgan about ten years ago and the requirements to participate have expanded to include UK and European students, apprentices and those who have been in business two years or less. William remarks about how the original fur felts were made from beaver, and how so much of the beaver trade went through the Port of New York that New York City’s coat of arms has two beavers on it.
46 | the hat magazine #95
for their specific goals of weight, size, colour and density. If the wool is from a single breed of animal like Merino sheep, it will be labelled as such. Wool readily takes dye for an abundant
choice of colours. White and light pastel- coloured wool hat bodies are usually more expensive than darker colours and black. Wool is also a renewable resource in that it grows continuously. Wool sheep must be shorn once or twice a year to keep the animals healthy. Though not considered the peak of high-end headwear, wool felt hats are for some people a more ethical fibre choice.
Fur felt
Although the ethics of fur is an important discussion to have, this article will focus on information about
fur felt hat bodies and the types of fur. All four common types of fur are from animal populations
classified by the official IUCN red
list of endangered species as of “least concern”. The trapping of wild fur animals is believed to help control populations
fur vintage
for the benefit of the trappers, animals and ecology. Wild animal sourcing is considered more ethical and humane than fur animal farming. Rabbit fur is the most common fur
felt hat body available and it also costs the least. On a general grading scale for fur felt, rabbit is considered the least valuable as it is less warm and more delicate, followed by hare (whose fur is longer and stronger), and then beaver and coypu, both of which have the benefits of being highly water-repellent, very soft and durable. However, beaver fur is viewed as more valuable (perhaps, as Willee Roberts remarks, because the animals are cuter). Finally, mink or chinchilla fur is used in premium fur blends. Rabbit fur does not felt as tightly
as beaver fur; thus it must be heavier to maintain its shape. It is less water- resistant and more susceptible to losing its shape, but is much more durable than
Rabbit
Rabbit velour
Rabbit melusine
Pierre Huvet of Oddchap Hats admits his first hat with a wool felt hat body was not a success. However, his second attempt was with a rabbit fur felt and he can say with pride: “It was a hat”. Pierre clearly prefers working with the fur felt. He appreciates taking a hat body that was originally made by the thousands and then, by shaping it with his hands and steam, it becomes unique to him. He is interested in trying fur felting by hand. A friend gifted him six recently caught whole coypu. He went about processing the animal; unfortunately,
it was a hot summer day
and he had to work fast. He is waiting for a lull in orders to experiment with the felting process on the coypu fur. Pierre’s innovation is his own concoction that he applies to his fur felt hats to create his custom- distressed hats, making each one a unique work of art. Pierre is not the only one to customise a new hat. According to the field notes of US outerwear company Filson on the
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