(continuing the previous post) What we do with felt depends on what the market will bear,the same as any other marketable item. The type of fabric produced by the felting process is determined on the use it is needed for. Why would someone want 3/4 inch felt for a scarf or collar?
Merriam-Webster has not been updated for years, and modern day felters still have not done a good job of informing the world about felting and what it is or what is possible. The Cooper-Hewitt Museum is taking a great step forward with their exhibit on art felt. The rest is up to we felters. This thing we call felting is still in the revival stages and it is our job to explain and demonstrate what the process is, where it came from and what can be done with it. Fabric is fabric, be it silk chiffon or twill. We still call it fabric. Felt is felt if it is made using fiber entanglement. Dictionaries need revision, the world needs to be educated and more people need to know what felt is and what can be done with it. In the meantime our communications media are stuck with existing idoms to describe the process and the end result.

I didn't mean to start a war or words when I first commented on this process, but it seems we have one anyway. I too am an avid felter. I wet felt using wool, wool & silk or bamboo; wool, silk, bamboo, novelty yarns, threads, string, fabric snippets all at the same time in the traditional layer-wet/heat-roll technique I also hand-needle felt using the same materials as above. Felting was originally a cottage craft using whatever materials were available. The end result was very, very stong and could be used outdoors year round, i.e. Mongolian yurts. When the industrial revolution arrived, man wanted to find a way to make the same strong material commercially. Machines using literally thousands of barbed needles were invented to do the same thing the original process did, but faster. Industrial felt is very strong, comes in very thick pieces for industrial use, less than 1/8 in. for retail use and whisper-thin pieces for designer use. The point is, it is still felt.
I also machine-needle felt on a Huskystar with 5 needles at a time and I use traditional materials as well as modern ones. If done properly, felt can be made very stong on the machine or designer fabrics can be produced as for this article. I produce yard goods on my machine that is beautiful, strong and felt.
The felting
Friends Forum recognizes all three types of felting as felt. The ball is still up in the air for items that are first constructed and then felted in the waching machine with hot water and soap and agitation (sound familiar) it is still felt.
Felting as we know it today would make our ancestors laugh.

Thank you for putting the commercial before us in this format. I saw even more than I could find on TV. I was dumbfounded when I saw it on televison. What an outstanding job and what creativity!!

LaDiggity, I recommend that if you use hand-felting needles that you purchase an oz. or two of silk roving(or even wool). You only need a few of the fibers to help lock your layers of fabric together. The fibers will blend in with your silk fabric as it is felted. The reason for this recommendation is that you cannot felt as fast or strongly with hand needles as you can with the machine. It is better to have the little extra protection. Again, my recommendation for the smallest needle4 possible still stands.

This is a very good article with very useful info and good photos. The only fault I find with the article is the section Get The Tools. It does not sound like the author ever looked at the needles used for hand or machine felting. They do not have a tiny barb at the end. Fishhooks do. Felting needles have a series of barbs along the blade of the needle depending on the needle size and shape(triangular or Star). Most felting (or embellishing) machine manufacturers do not mention that needles come in various sizes or shapes; or that the smaller the needle size, the smaller the visible hole in the felted fabric. I recommend a size 42 triangular needle for felting silk. Most machines are sold with a size 38 triangular needle which does leave a pretty visible hole in the finished fabric. Try Our Designs at www.tryourdesigns.com sells a sampler pacof assorted needle sizes at a reasonable price. They fit most felting machines.