Pool Table Felt, also referred to as Baize

Baize is a coarse woollen (or in cheaper variants cotton) cloth, sometimes called "felt" in American English based on a similarity in appearance.

The surface finish of baize is not very fine (and thus increases friction, perceptibly slowing the balls down, from a player's perspective). Baize is available with and without a perceptible nap; snooker, in which understanding of the effects of the nap is part of the game, uses the nappy variety, while pocket billiards (pool) and carom billiards use the napless type. Table baize is available in many grades, with pool halls preferring smooth, "fast" worsted woollen baize, while rather more fuzzy, "slow" cloth is common used for bar/pub pool.

For gaming use it is traditionally dyed green, in mimicry of a lawn (see Cue sport, "History"), thus the common (British English) phrase "the green baize", a metaphoric way to refer to snooker itself. Today, a wide variety of colours are now used for tables (for other uses such as clothing it has always been available in other colours).The word is related to the cloth term "bays" (sometimes encountered as "bays and says").

A closeup of the weave of worsted baize. This particular sample is Simonis 760, a high-end pocket billiards (pool) cloth; it is napless, unlike snooker cloth, and smooth and non-fuzzy, unlike typical bar pool cloth. Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any color, and made into any shape or size. Felt is the oldest form of fabric known to humankind. It predates weaving and knitting, although there is archaeological evidence from the British Museum that the first known thread was made by winding vegetable fibers on the thigh.[citation needed] In Turkey, the remains of felt have been

found dating back at least to 6,500 BC. Highly sophisticated felted artifacts were found preserved in permafrost in a tomb in Siberia and dated to 600 AD.

Many cultures have legends as to the origins of feltmaking. Sumerian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by Urnamman of Lagash.[citation needed] The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.[citation needed]