What Is A Felt Cowboy Hat?
Felt is a dense collection of short, single animal fibers pressed together with hot water and steam so that they interlock. Felt is a fabric but it is much stronger than woven fabrics because with felt each individual fiber is interlocked with other fibers in several different directions. Woven fabrics, on the other hand, are made from fibers that are first twisted into threads. When the threads are woven together the result is a fabric that can be torn apart in a straight line. Felt does not have this inherent weakness. Felt makes a superior fabric for a cowboy hat because it is much harder to tear or damage than other fabrics, is naturally water resistant, and is light weight.