Felt bags
Published by Steve Hill on April 2, 2019What is felt for a bag?
Felt bags use felt which is a textile material and can be made from natural fibres like wool, animal fur or synthetic fibres such as acrylic or wood-pulp based rayon. Felt is produced by condensing fibres together and often fibres can be blended such as polyester and wool.
White felt folder with green felt inside plus PU leather and metal popper closure
Felt wool is probably one of the oldest known textile and legend has it that Saint Clement and Saint Christopher packed sandals with wool to prevent blisters when fleeing from persecution and the movement condensed the wool and turned it into felt insoles in the shoe.
Why use felt for a bag?
Felt can be used for a variety of reasons for a bag. They include endurance, style and cost efficiencies. A felt bag is robust and can endure a number of uses. It can be combined with other fabrics to incorporate print and can be embroidered beautifully. Felt is considered stylish and a number of designers have included felt bags and accessories in their collections. We’re asked increasingly to make bespoke felt bags and have included a felt tote bag in our stock range this year which is easy to customise on a short lead time because it’s sitting in our warehouse ready for branding. Another consideration for felt bags is the cost. Manufacturing a custom felt bag is a cost effective way of creating a great stand-out branded bag. Everyone prints cotton tote bags, make yours stand out and encourage repeated use by making it super-cool and reusable.
How is felt used for a bag?
Felt can be used for the body of the bag as seen in these photos. We have a large range of coloured felt that can be used for a bag. It can be layered up to create a three-ply thickness with contrast colour sandwiched in the middle or a felt lining can be use on the inside of the bag. Felt handle are robust when they are folded over and sewn together to create a thick and durable handle to go over the shoulder or be hand held.
Pockets can be cut out of a felt lining as can small slits in a felt folder to hold still a business card or other paperwork.
Who uses felt for a bag?
Retailers and design agencies choose felt bags, but don’t that limit your decision to choose felt. Retailers require a felt bag to stand out against the other cotton bags that everyone else makes. Design agencies want to offer felt bags to their clients as an alternative so not every brand has the same offering.
How do you customise a felt bag?
It’s possible to embroider a felt bag. We’ve achieved great precise embroidery on felt as you can see from the photos below. Accuracy and precision is important for embroidery. We can Pantone match the thread for embroidery on tailor-made bags from our far-east factory.
Woven labels or leather badges are a great way to brand a felt bag. Woven labels on felt bags can be Pantone matched, sewn in at the seam or as a badge. It’s also possible to include a leather or PU embossed bags to include your logo or brand icon. Printing a felt bag is possible and often to achieve a digital print, we will print a cotton and lay it over the felt. It’s also possible to include printed cotton linings or branded handles for a really bespoke item.
What styles of felt bag are there?
You can make any style of felt bag. Felt bags can be any style!
Cross body felt bag, tote felt bag, felt bottle bag, felt shopper bag, felt folder, felt iPad case. Tell us what you’re looking for and we can design it for you or you can send over something you would like to replicate and we can copy it with you own branding.
Contrast fabric with felt
Combining other fabric types with felt is an interesting way to make a bag your own. Your brand wants a bag that no-one else has thought of and felt with cotton can look stunning.
Handles for felt bags
Felt handles or self handles means the handle is made from the same fabric as the body of the bag. It’s possible to choose leather or PU leather handles, cotton webbing handles or canvas handles to suit your style. Popular choices for felt bag handles have included leather with matching badges for a coordinated look to the bag.
Accessories for felt bags
Other hardware that can be included on a felt bag includes metalwork such as a branded popper for closure or a buckle for a strap. It’s also possible to consider a metal eyelet for a G-ring if you made a felt wallet and needed keys to be attached. Other felt bag accessories might include a contrast trim or woven labels.
How to make a felt bag
If you want to make a felt bag or felt folder, we can make one from scratch for you. Our minimum order quantity for felt products is 500. Contact us about bags for a precise quote. If you’re looking for a few less, then you can consider our stock felt bags that are already on the shelf and ready for your logo! Minimum order quantity is 200 and we’ll be pleased to get them out to you within 2 weeks.
