Wool is sturdier, more durable.  Felt scapulars tend to be the inexpensive kind that fall apart quickly.  

I could be mistaken, but isn't felt made of wool?

Good quality felt is made of wool, but most of what is sold for felt, ie. at Michaels Crafts, is 100% polyester.  The scapular front and back, but not necessarily the strings, should be real wool.  If a person is allergic to wool, a cloth may be sewn over the wool.

Dear forum,

At the sermon yesterday, Father mentioned that many scapulars are felt and not wool. Does anyone have both and can someone post a comparision of both?

Thank you,
David

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The Brown Scapular of Mt. Carmel is granted a very powerful indulgence and power, more so than any other sacramental (scapular or whatever else). Once a Baptized person is invested with the Brown Scapular by a Catholic priest, he is a walking edifice (so to speak) of Scapular blessing, such that when his scapular wears out or is lost, all he has to do is get a replacement, even if he makes his own from brown wool cloth, and by putting the scapular on over his head, the scapular becomes a blessed sacramental. He does not need to have the new scapular blessed by a priest. No other sacramental has this power.
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But the material of the cloth patch of whatever size it is (some are only a half inch square but it's still a scapular) must be of 100% wool. Polyester, cotton, satin, silk, fleece, rayon, acetate, synthetic, nylon, or whatever you might dream up next, does not qualify. It must be wool. The scapular can have an image on it, a sewn message, the picture of a saint or some design or someone who is not a saint. To emphasize the unimportance of the image, my priest told us from the pulpit, We got a great deal on this bunch of scapulars I brought with me today, which have a picture of Hilary Clinton on them. That got a big laugh.
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I was a volunteer for a Juvenile Hall chapel visiting program, whereby we would go into the locked areas and talk one-on-one with the children prisoners there. We could bring rosaries, holy cards and brown scapulars. This was about 1992. One day, we were informed by the so-called chaplain (not a priest) that a new directive from Roger Cardinal Mahony had arrived, such that we could no longer distribute brown scapulars. The reason was that on the scapular it says that anyone who dies wearing this scapular will not suffer the fires of hell. Some of the children reading this came to believe that so long as they were wearing a scapular, they could go out and commit crimes or gang violence and they'd be immune from ill effects of their misdeeds. Therefore, in order to prevent them from engaging in related nefarious activity, the Cardinal's solution was to forbid the distribution of brown scapulars to the inmates. That'll teach 'em a thing or two! At the time it made me wonder: Is this what St. Maximilian Kolbe would have done? Is this the solution that Padre Pio would have suggested? Is this the kind of plan that the Cure of Ars would have dreamed up?
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I don't think so.
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Does the wool have to be brown?  I'm assuming, technically, no.  But, since the carmelites wore brown wool habits, the spirit of the law would say yes.  Curious if anyone knows for sure.

Rather hard to be a brown scapular if the wool isn't brown.  It would be like a three sided square.  The brown is an intrinsic property of the the brown scapular.

The Church has approved a scapulars of other colors, but those scapulars do not come with the promises of our Lady that are attached to the brown scapular.

"... even if he makes his own from brown wool cloth...

But the material of the cloth patch of whatever size it is (some are only a half inch square but it's still a scapular) must be of 100% wool. Polyester, cotton, satin, silk, fleece, rayon, acetate, synthetic, nylon, or whatever you might dream up next, does not qualify. It must be wool. The scapular can have an image on it, a sewn message, the picture of a saint or some design or someone who is not a saint."

Great Info!
Thanks!
May I ask where you got it from?  I ask because I started making Brown Scapulars not too long ago and one of my suppliers told me that the wool had to be "100% woven". I don't like the "woven" material because it falls apart really easily. I have been using 100% Merino wool felt...brown of course. I believe, and hope, that the textile I am using is okay.  From what I have read on a Carmelite site it just states "100% brown wool" nothing about "woven". However, The Catholic Encyclopedia (online) states "woven wool". 

Now I gotta contact the Carmelites that I know to get a solid confirmation on this thought.
Peace & Blessings!  :D

Great Info!
Thanks!
May I ask where you got it from?  I ask because I started making Brown Scapulars not too long ago and one of my suppliers told me that the wool had to be "100% woven". I don't like the "woven" material because it falls apart really easily. I have been using 100% Merino wool felt...brown of course. I believe, and hope, that the textile I am using is okay.  From what I have read on a Carmelite site it just states "100% brown wool" nothing about "woven". However, The Catholic Encyclopedia (online) states "woven wool".

Now I gotta contact the Carmelites that I know to get a solid confirmation on this thought.
Peace & Blessings!  :D

What you are using is not o.k.  It's got to be woven wool, 100%.

Offer to a carmelite to pay for material for her to make herself a new habit, asking for the old habit in return, and you will have all the 100% woven wool you need to make as many scapulars as your heart desires while in the process performing an act of charity.

Since her old habit was blessed, the scapulars you make won't need reblessing...
Remember that whatever picture you put on the scapular may not hide the fact that the primary material it is made from is wool.

woven: The fibers create a little criss-cross pattern that you can only see if you have great vision. Look closely at a linen napkin or altar cloth.

Felt: fibers are pressed together with steam and pressure to allow the fibers to naturally interlock.  Look closely at the felt your children use in crafts.

Now, you CAN get 100% wool woven felt, which is what the carmelites use in making their habits.  Woven Felt is Wool woven into a cloth then felted using steam and pressure to make the fibers interlock.

Thank you! These are things I have no experience with. Most cheap scapulars are made with the felt variety. Glad I’ve always made sure mine are 100% wool.