Woolen cloth

A fabric made from sheep wool, sometimes with an admixture of other animal hair, finished by a process of fulling (felting). A loosely woven plain or twill fabric was first sewn together lengthwise into larger pieces, then folded into pleats and placed in a fulling mill (a “fulling trough”). By the pressure of falling wooden hammers and the action of warm water with added degreasing and soaking agents (such as urine or soap), the fabric became denser, thicker, and shrank in both length and width. The time required for proper fulling (from six hours up to three days) depended on the quality of the wool used. In craft and small-scale industrial production, the fulled cloth was then dried stretched on frames. In Slovakia, home production of this type of cloth continued until the 1960s. It was made from coarse peasant or shepherd’s woolen fabric.