Felting Traditions

While the Incans were expert weavers and bred for extremely fine alpaca fleece, Heartfelt's products have roots in other cultures as well. Wall paintings in Turkey suggest humans were felting fiber as early as 6500-3000 BC. Siberian felts date from 600 BC. The Greeks and Romans felted clothing and military gear. Mongolian felts date from the 13th century.

Unlike knotted Persian rugs, felted textiles take their strength from the tangling of their fibers and from interlocking the scales of the individual fibers

Heartfelt's designers likewise draw from timeless traditions. The natural colors of alpaca fiber lend themselves to designs inspired by Incan textiles and those of Native Americans from the North American plains and southwest. The quilting patterns of Missouri's German farm women provide additional inspiration for Heartfelt designers.

Grounded in this broad base of traditions, respectful of the ancient spirits that live on in our animals, Heartfelt creates products that you can be proud to own.