Seven years ago, Jenne Giles was a San Francisco painter and sculptor who didn’t know felting existed. Now she works almost exclusively in the medium, stretching the possibilities of felt in fashion.

Soft yet tough, felt is a versatile, malleable material used for everything from sculpting to sewing. Then there’s felt needling, a beginner-friendly sculpting method with a range of possibilities.

Heat, water and agitation can cause scaley wool fibres to interlock into flat, dense felt. The nonwoven material dates back to primitive times, predating weaving. Although, it's doubtful the Sicilians ...