Photo by Jeffrey Saulton Carol McKittrick, left, and Marlene Delaney, right, both of Marietta, were part of a workshop on felting at the Riverside Artists Gallery on Saturday in downtown Marietta.

MARIETTA — For thousands of years clothing and other items have been made using the fleece of various animals and that art form was shared Saturday at the Riverside Artists Gallery on Second Street.

Tracy Leinbaugh, of Athens, was the instructor, and she described felting as taking wool from animals including sheep, goats, camels, alpaca or llama and making it into clothing or rugs, boots, bags or hats.

“It’s been done for about 7,000 years,” she said. “That’s what the Mongolians make their yurts from.”

Leinbaugh said the fibers used for felting can be raw wool or wool which has been carded or combed and skirted to remove any debris that may be in the fleece. She said even after raw wool has been carded it can still be curly and rough.

Even the decoration is the same, just fibers that have been dyed.

Photo by Jeffrey Saulton Tracy Leinbaugh, of Athens, was the instructor of a felting workshop at the Riverside Artists Gallery on Saturday.

“It’s fun to do your dying,” she said. “Just go out in your yard or fields and collect plants.”

Leinbaugh has been felting for about seven or eight years, just one of several mediums she uses in her artwork. She also weaves, spins, stains glass, makes pottery, paints and draws and all that good stuff.

“I like working with fiber the most,” she said.

Leinbaugh also works with wet felting, where a needle is not used. She said the design is made and then washed to retain the shape.

She has made clothing pieces from that process.

Leinbaugh said the felting workshop was one of the gallery’s Saturday afternoon “Date to Create” series.

“We offer that and anybody can come in and do it,” she said. “People need something to do; they can make something, take it home and keep for themselves or give it away.”

Marlene Delaney, of Marietta, said she heard about the workshop and thought it was intriguing. She also attended a session on stained glass.

“I saw it on Facebook and it sounded interesting,” she said. “I don’t know if this will be a new hobby. I’m not very artistic, but this is fun. The instructors are very patient and can explain so anyone can understand it.”

Carol McKittrick, of Marietta, said she has attended other workshops at the gallery.

“I took the stained glass and they gave me a sheet listing other workshops,” she said. “We saw these at Christmas, a lady we know who works here said she took the class once, so here we are.”

McKittrick said she sees herself between someone who dabbles and an artist.

“I’m a wannabe artist, so we dabble,” she said. “We took the watercolor class and stained glass, it’s just for fun.”

Trisha Delaney, of Beverly, said the workshops are a way to try different or unusual things.

“We like to try new things sometimes,” she said.

Delaney said she found the felting easy for a first time try.

“Tracy broke it down step by step,” she said. “We were able to do it as she provided the instruction.”