Since I first heard of ‘carta lana’ (translation: ‘wool paper’), the premier material for professional mask making, I’ve spent many hours online trying to find it in the U.S, to no avail.  I’ve had small samples of thin felt sent from several companies, including one from Germany that advertises as the best, but none were remotely similar.

Poster “Dwinitt† (U.S.) found it at a single source (Squires Kitchen online) in Britain, but for a rather small amount, the shipping costs were outrageous.  He ended up flying to Florence, Italy, and buying enough to pack a suitcase.

He generously sent me two pieces, one of each weight.  Thin, soft, very supple and flexible, with a slight sheen.  Yet….. it was oddly familiar, as from a memory from long ago.  Something I had seen and felt before.  And that memory annoyed me; if I had seen and felt it before, it should be available here in the U.S.

And then one day last week, an online word in an ad caught my eye and it all fell into place.

MOLESKIN.  ‘Carta lana’ is COTTON MOLESKIN fabric to the rest of the world.

Just to make sure before I posted here, I ordered some online.  It just arrived.  I was correct:  carta lana and cotton moleskin are the same thing.

Like many searchers for carta lana that I’ve read about online, I was blinded by the direct translation, “wool paper†.  Well, it isn’t wool and it isn’t paper and it isn’t any kind of felt. 

In America, we call a loose mass of cotton fiber just ‘cotton’; in Britain, it’s called ‘cotton wool’.  I would bet money that Italy’s ‘carta lana’, which I translated directly to ‘wool paper’ REALLY translates to ‘cotton’ and a thin ‘sheet’ as in paper-thin:  a thin sheet of cotton fabric.  And that’s what it is.

It’s not in every fabric shop (sort of a specialty item) but at least one shop in every major city should have it, and if they don’t, you can order it online.  In the U.S.  In Britain.  In Europe.  Probably somewhere in nearly every country in the world. 

Look specifically for ‘COTTON MOLESKIN FABRIC’ (not just moleskin).  If that doesn’t translate directly in your home language, look via the most-common brand: ‘Chamonix cotton’ by the Robert Kaufmann Fabric Company.  It Must Be 100% Cotton.  There are similar names in polyester and poly blends, but that is plastic, which won’t do.  Less expensive brands might also be called ‘cotton suede fabric’, but again, it must be 100% cotton, and not too stiff.

In the U.S., the price for one yard (but 57† wide) seems to run $19-23 (57†x36† is really 1.5 yards).  If it costs about $6, it’s not likely cotton.

Sue