We offer over 200 colours of 100% wool felt, premium Merino pure new wool felt.
It is non-toxic according to OEKO-TEX® test no. 2402035 and meets toy safety requirements UNE-EN 71-2 and UNE-EN 71-3. It is manufactured in the EU and is 100% eco-friendly, sustainable and non-flammable.
We also offer glitter and metallic felt which are bonded onto 100% wool felt, plus wool felt with printed patterns.

An unassuming little sheet of wool felt is a luxurious modern textile and also one of the oldest known fabrics. It’s made with real sheep’s wool and transformed into an gorgeous range of inspiring colours. And it’s fantastic to work with as it cuts like butter, sews like a dream, and is sturdy. It doesn’t fray or tear easily, is naturally stain-resistant and is a soft and smooth fabric that makes it superior for crafting.

We believe that it’s worth the investment when putting so much time and care into something handmade. It’s designed to last, the way good materials naturally do. Plus, it’s also Oeko‑Tex certified, made in Europe, and the most eco‑friendly felt we’ve found, which is a bonus.

Merino is a type of sheep breed, known for its fine, soft and luxurious fibre. This wool type is specifically used in the production of 100% wool felt in Europe, where it is washed, carded, felted then dyed for market. There are hundreds of sheep breeds, and only a couple dozen that are used in wool production, with Merino being the standard for top quality wool felt production. There are possibly other sheep breeds used in felt production in other places, but we don’t carry them (they are likelier more scratchy too). All lines of our of our 100% wool felt are Merino.

The standard 100% wool felt sheet is 20 x 30 cm (approx. 7.87 × 11.8”). It is 1 mm thick, but can be slightly thicker, especially with the natural undyed felts. Felt sheets listed in our felt collections and Shop by Colour pages are usually the standard 20 x 30 cm size, unless otherwise noted.
Larger sizes of 100% wool felt can be found on the Larger Sheets and Metres Wool Felt page.
Glitter felt and Metallic felt come in 2 imperial sizes, which are listed on their pages, along with their different thicknesses.

Felt describes manufactured non-woven fabric, which isn’t always made of natural material, as it historically was. Felt can be made from synthetic material such as polyester or natural fibres like wool or bamboo, and blended fibres like rayon with wool. Besides the craft felt fabrics, felt can be found in the automotive sector and is a growing sector in architecture and interior design. Felt fabric is usually between 1 mm and 5 mm thick. For craft fabric, the thinner 1 mm (or 1. 5 mm) felt is optimal for hand sewing.

The Merino wool used in the felt is from Australia, Southern Europe and South America. It is sent to western Europe where the process to turn it into a versatile wool felt product begins (washing, carding, dyeing, etc).

Currently we offer the highest quality wool felt available in the world, with more than 200 beautiful colours in 100% wool felt. Because of this, we don’t carry lower‑quality blend felts. Most colours you’ll find in blended felts are already available in pure wool felt plus the pure wool is also softer to the touch, and doesn’t have the glossy sheen of synthetic fibres in it.

Blend felts are relatively new on the craft scene, especially compared to 100% which has been trusted for decades. Their lower wool content felts don’t always hold their seams. They still will pill, though less than acrylic. Even Premium Blend Wool Felt usually only contains up to 1/3 wool, and the rest is rayon. Rayon is a cellulose material, it’s a semi-synthetic textile fibre or fabric made from regenerated cellulose (viscose) It starts out as a natural material, but is transformed and there isn’t clear information on how well it breaks down in a landfill type situation.

We love using 100% wool felt for all our own projects, and don’t want to compromise on quality when so much time and care goes into something handmade.

When we started offering 100% wool felt over 25 years ago, the typical “felt” that crafts and fabric stores sold was the synthetic acrylic variety, and so it often gets referred to as “craft store felt”. Nowadays this is usually the same acrylic “felt” found at huge online retailers, “dollar stores” and the like, and so many crafters end up with a stash of it until they discover “the good stuff”.
Unfortunately we can’t recommend trying to incorporate it into your projects together with pure wool felt. Acrylic felt doesn’t stand up to toy making and play, and the static quality of it can make it unpleasant to touch, plus it looks quite different (“glassy”), and so we just avoid the stuff.
If you have a stash of this “felt” and not sure how to use it up, perhaps consider asking your local library or education facility if they can use it as a donation for storyboards or drop-in crafts. Someone may as well get some use out of it.
However, Merino blend felt and 100% wool felt might do okay together for decoration only (no play).

Absolutely! Making wool felt by hand is a wonderful traditional process where you press and agitate the fibres together using hot water and soap. Many people have accidentally(!) discovered this process with a wool sweater in washing machine, which is one way to make felt if the fibres are already together (like a knit sweater).
Making felt sheets smooth and uniform like the 1 mm craft felt sheets we offer is quite a challenge, as they tend to end up thicker or uneven. If you are thinking of trying it out then begin with Merino wool and pure olive oil soap for making felt sheets with the traditional wet felting technique (sorry, supplies not available at Bear Dance Crafts). It makes for a fun afternoon with wool and soap:)

Wool felt can be used in making children’s dolls, felt animals and toys, birthday crowns, play food, educational storyboards, quiet books, home décor, felt flowers, Christmas and holiday ornaments, pincushions and needle books, appliqué, hair accessories, clothes and more. It’s easy to cut, doesn’t fray or tear easily. Perfect for hand or machine stitching, or gluing (sparingly glue).

Glitter and metallic wool felt are created with a top layer of the glitter or metallic bonded to 100% Merino wool felt. They offer a very fun alternative the fully synthetic felts out there, as only the top layer is not wool felt. Use a little to spice up a project, they make great hair bows, shoe wings, or a little bling on a project. If you are a purist, no problem, we get that too, and that’s why we carry so many colours of 100% pure wool felt to explore. But, if you would like a little bling to add to your project, the glitter and metallic felts are pretty nifty.

Yes, though expect some shrinkage. Some craft patterns that are hand embroidered will recommend pre-washing the felt by hand, especially when they are going to be soaked (usually to remove products like stick n stitch) afterwards. When hand washed for the first time, felt might shrink 5+/-%, and excess colour dye might bleed.

As this product is a combination of materials, the felt side will shrink slightly while the top (glitter or metallic) side will not. Not recommended!

Soak the felt in a flat tray or sink in cold water. Sometimes colours will bleed from excess dye, so soak each colour separately. The best way to remove the water is to press the water out. This is why I prefer a flat tray, as you can angle the tray to collect and pour away the water more easily. When you press the felt it retains its shape better. Do not wring the felt out, as twisting it can cause misshaping. Note: if you plan to get the mottled bubble look from putting your felt in a dryer then wringing might be okay, proceed carefully (do a small test piece first).

Keep in mind that if you are intentionally trying to felt wool, you will want heated water, soap and friction to matt the fibres together (like an accidental sweater shrinkage in the washing machine), so you will want to avoid all those things that encourage the fibres to bind more to each other, so as to retain the original look of your wool felt as best as possible.

Dry it flat, and away from heat. The standard recommendation is to lay it on a towel, but I usually lay mine horizontal on a laundry rack a few feet away from the heat source. It normally dries quite quickly (overnight). If it isn’t as flat as you would like when dry, you can try to iron on a low ‘wool’ setting, without steam. Be warned that edges might flute out somewhat if you do this, so be careful not over-iron and end up with felt edges that look like a pie shell.

Luckily with the repellant properties found in pure wool felt, the felt is naturally dirt and and moisture repellant.
For an item that has dry dirt, dust or staining try lightly vacuuming the felt. If it is a smaller item that could end up sucked up into the vacuum by accident, cover the end of the hose with a fine cloth (like pantyhose) before vacuuming. Alternately a soft nylon surgical brush can be used dry to gently to brush debris off of the felt carefully.
For a wet stain on wool felt we recommend immediately dabbing it with an absorbent dry cloth or paper towel, and keep dabbing until the item feels clean. Dabbing by pressing, not rubbing the cloth back and forth to create friction (and further felting the felt).
For greasy stains you can try a product that lifts grease off of wool, such as K2R Spot-Lifter. It has been recommended, but I haven’t tested it yet, so no thoughts on how well it works.