Alena Lidzhieva, About Felt Making and Felt Yurts

Alena talks about how felt was processed in the past. Women gathered together, spread out sheep’s wool on the floor and beat it continuously with sticks. Afterwards the wool was sprinkled with water and rolled up. The roll was left for several days and the whole process was repeated several times. When the felt was ready, it was decorated with ornaments.The yurt had a two-layered door. In the winter the door was covered with felt in order to keep the dwelling warm. The roof of the yurt was also covered with felt. In order to render it stable in the wind, the yurt was tied to sticks, which were nailed into the ground around the yurt. In the summer the felt on the wall was rolled up to allow the yurt to be ventilated. In the rain the yurt did not get wet.