Boiled Wool

Boiled wool is knitted wool that has been deliberately fulled, agitated in hot water until the fibers mat and the cloth shrinks into a dense, thick, warm, and weatherproof fabric that resists wind and does not fray when cut. The technique is centuries old in the Alpine countries, where it makes the traditional Tyrolean and Austrian jackets, the Janker and the loden-style coat. Unlike woven loden or melton it begins as a knit, so it keeps a little give, but the boiling turns a soft jumper into something close to a soft felt.