Editing Felt (section)

==History==
[[File:A Hawrami man with traditional headdress, Kurdistan.jpg|thumb|Faranji is a [[Kurdish clothing|Kurdish vest]] worn by men in winter and early spring]]
Felt from [[wool]] is one of the oldest known textiles.<ref name="Hagen2005">{{cite book|author=Chad Alice Hagen|title=Fabulous Felt Hats: Dazzling Designs from Handmade Felt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5ysqGN5qv8C&pg=PT8|year=2005|publisher=Lark Books|isbn=978-1-57990-542-2|pages=8–}}</ref> Many cultures have legends about the origins of felt-making. [[Sumer]]ian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by [[Urnamman]] of [[Lagash]].<ref name="Howard2011">{{cite book|author=Dan Howard|title=Bronze Age Military Equipment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=diOx0cfHegEC&pg=PA69|year=2011|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=978-1-84884-293-9|pages=69–}}</ref> The story of [[Clement of Metz|Saint Clement]] and [[Saint Christopher]] relates that the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters while fleeing from persecution. At the end of their journey the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.<ref name="Thompson2011">{{cite book|author=Chris Thompson|title=Felt: Fluxus, Joseph Beuys, and the Dalai Lama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HngWM5yKYy8C&pg=PT56|year=2011|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-5354-6|pages=56–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Recent Development of American Industries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xssvAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA63|year=1891|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|pages=63–}}</ref>

Most likely felt's origins can be found in east Asia, where there is evidence of feltmaking in Siberia (Altai mountains) in Northern Mongolia and more recently evidence dating back to the first century CE in Mongolia. Siberian tombs (7th to 2nd century BCE) show the broad uses of felt in that culture, including clothing, jewelry, wall hangings, and elaborate horse blankets.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Eiland |first=Murray Lee |date=2007-07-25 |title=Felting Between East and West |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08949460701424163 |journal=Visual Anthropology |language=en |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=263–283 |doi=10.1080/08949460701424163 |s2cid=144540499 |issn=0894-9468}}</ref> Employing careful color use, stitching, and other techniques, these feltmakers were able to use felt as an illustrative and decorative medium on which they could depict abstract designs and realistic scenes with great skill. Over time these makers became known for the beautiful abstract patterns they used that were derived from plant, animal, and other symbolic designs.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|21}}

From Siberia and Mongolia feltmaking spread across the areas held by the Turkic-Mongolian tribes. Sheep and camel herds were central to the wealth and lifestyle of these tribes, both of which animals were critical to producing the fibers needed for felting. For nomads traveling frequently and living on fairly treeless plains felt provided housing (yurts, tents etc.), insulation, floor coverings, and inside walling, as well as many household necessities from bedding and coverings to clothing. In the case of nomadic peoples, an area where feltmaking was particularly visible was in trappings for their animals and for travel. Felt was often featured in the blankets that went under saddles.<ref name=":0" />

Dyes provided rich coloring, and colored slices of pre-felts (semi-felted sheets that could be cut in decorative ways) along with dyed yarns and threads were combined to create beautiful designs on the wool backgrounds. Felt was even used to create [[totems]] and [[amulets]] with protective functions. In traditional societies the patterns embedded in the felt were also imbued with significant religious and symbolic meaning.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|21–23}}

Feltmaking is still practised by [[nomadic people]]s (such as [[Mongols]] and [[Turkic people]]) in [[Central Asia]], where [[carpet|rug]]s, [[tent]]s and [[clothing]] are regularly made.<ref name="GoldsteinBeall1994">{{cite book|author1=Melvyn C. Goldstein|author2=Cynthia M. Beall|title=The Changing World of Mongolia's Nomads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=deJPKpbGRUgC&pg=PA147|year=1994|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08551-0|pages=147–}}</ref> Some of these are traditional items, such as the classic [[yurt]], or ger,<ref name="Kemery2006">{{cite book|author=Becky Kemery|title=Yurts: Living in the Round|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmmFuyKamlYC&pg=PT160|year=2006|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=978-1-58685-891-9|pages=160–}}</ref> while others are designed for the tourist market, such as decorated slippers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Front Lines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TS_V5b0zz6oC|year=2006|publisher=U.S. Agency for International Development}}</ref> In the Western world, felt is widely used as a medium for expression in both [[textile]] art and [[contemporary art]]<ref name="Thompson2011"/> and design, where it has significance as an ecologically responsible textile and building material.<ref name="BlockBokalders2010">{{cite book|author1=Maria Block|author2=Varis Bokalders|title=The Whole Building Handbook: "How to Design Healthy, Efficient and Sustainable Buildings"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCjfoQfghEYC&pg=PA57|date=9 February 2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-54328-9|pages=57–}}</ref>

In addition to Central Asian traditions of felting, [[Scandinavia]]n countries have also supported feltmaking, particularly for clothing.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Uniquely felt : dozens of techniques from fulling and shaping to nuno and cobweb : includes 46 creative projects|last=White|first=Christine|date=2007|publisher=Storey Pub|isbn=978-1-58017-673-6|location=North Adams, MA|oclc=141188054}}</ref>