In order to protect the table and prevent the needle breaking, a felting mat is usually placed under the wool. Typically, the felting mat is made from materials that can be divided into three types - foam, sponge and brush. But no matter which type of material, any wool that remains after use must be cleaned off otherwise different colored wool will be felted onto the product next time you use it!! For those who felt often, dividing three felting mats when dealing with dark, light and multi-colors wool are recommend in order to achieve the best and cleanest results.
Three Common Type of Felting Mat
EPE foam
- with a smooth surface it is harder for the wool to stick and is particularly suitable to use for plane products. However, because this material belongs to the EPE type of fluffy foam, it wears out faster compared to sponge mats.
Sponge foam
- it has excellent elasticity and does not change shape even after persistent pressing. It is a supplementary mat suitable for tight rolling, with a higher resistance to stress so it wears out less easily. However, due to its excellent elasticity, the mat usually bounce slightly follow with needle movement, it makes wool felting slower.
Specialized bottom brush
Specialized bottom brush- although expensive, it can be used for a long time. Because wool easily adheres to the bristles, a clean cotton cloth should be spread on top of the brush surface when using, which must be timely changed and the wool cleaned from between the bristles.
EPE foam and sponge foam working mats are consumables, and with increase in frequency of use, the structure of foam and sponge means it will gradually soften and become damaged. After the working mat has softened, due to the inability to firmly support the pressure from needling the wool, it will slow down felting on plane products and when working on three-dimensional products, makes it easy for the product to slip and thus, risk poking one's finger. Therefore, the working mat's density and compressive resistance are very important. A high quality working mat can extend its usage life significantly, while effectively improving wool felting speed and safety.
What's the difference between Cat At Roof's The Dream Felting Mat and all other felting mats
As a lover and heavy user of wool felting, searching for the perfect working mat will always be a must. Over the many years I have just about bought all the working mats available on the market. After being left disappointed again and again, I finally decided to visit the factory multiple times and repeatedly experiment, to have a custom-made working mat that is most suitable for wool felting.
Therefore, Cat At Roof offers a needle felting mat different from any that is available on the market, as it uses foam of a high density and tensile strength. Combining the strengths of EPE foam with sponge, it effectively improves work efficiency and safety. I can proudly say that this is the best needle felting working mat in the market, and it even comes in three colors to match your use.
