Woolen and worsted are both wool. What separates them is how the fibres are prepared before spinning. Woolen yarn is carded: the fibres are brushed into a loose, airy web and spun with their ends pointing every which way. Worsted yarn is combed: short fibres are removed and the long ones are laid parallel before spinning, which gives a finer, harder, smoother thread. The name comes from Worstead, a village in Norfolk, England, that was a cloth-making centre by the 12th century. For the mill side of the story, from fleece to finished cloth, see how high-end billiard felt is made.

On a pool table that difference shows up as surface. Woolen cloth is finished by raising and brushing the fibre ends into a nap that lies in one direction, a little like velvet. Worsted cloth is tightly woven from those smooth combed yarns and left napless, so the ball rolls on the weave itself.

One terminology note. What most people call pool table felt is not felt at all. True felt is made by matting and pressing fibres together with no weaving. Billiard cloth, woolen or worsted, is woven. The trade uses "felt" and "cloth" interchangeably, and so do we in the FAQ.

The cleanest comparison is a pair from the same maker. A.W. Hainsworth, a mill in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, makes both kinds. Its Smart cloth is described by the maker as "a woollen napped cloth known for durability" and weighs 460 gsm (about 13.6 oz per square yard). Its Elite-Pro is "a worsted, napless cloth" for American pool at 365 gsm (about 10.8 oz per square yard). So the woolen cloth is roughly a quarter heavier, and the lighter worsted is the one sold as faster.

Two things stand out. First, "worsted" is a family, not a speed: Simonis says its own 860 plays slightly slower than its 760, so pick a model, not a category. Second, woolen does not mean slow. Strachan calls 6811 a "very fast" championship snooker cloth. It is fast for snooker, on a table built around a directional nap.

The finer points of how speed changes as any cloth ages are covered in pool table cloth and speed; this piece sticks to the choice between the two families.

The World Pool-Billiard Association's equipment specifications settle the question for American-style pool. Section 12 reads as a cloth recipe.

Surface

Non-directional, nap-free billiard fabric that will not pill or fluff.

Fibre

80 to 85% combed worsted wool with 15 to 20% nylon. 100% combed worsted wool is preferred.

Backing

No backed cloth allowed.

Color

Yellow-green, blue-green or electric blue for WPA competition.

Fitting

Bed cloth stretched as tight as possible, then relieved 1/2 in (1.27 cm) lengthwise and 1/4 in (0.635 cm) across before stapling at roughly 1 in spacing.

A home table does not have to meet a tournament spec, and the color rule only matters in sanctioned events. The useful part for a buyer is the logic: the body that sets the rules for pool chose a nap-free, combed-wool cloth because it plays the same in every direction. If you want your table to feel like the ones in a pool hall or on a stream, worsted is how you get there.

A worsted cloth plays the same in every direction. A woolen cloth has a grain, and the ball notices.

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On worsted, the ball rides a hard, flat weave with nothing to push through, so it travels farther for the same stroke and holds its line on slow rolls. That rewards a lighter touch and makes long position play more predictable. A player used to a napped cloth tends to overhit on worsted at first.

On a napped woolen cloth the raised fibres add drag, and because the nap lies one way, a ball rolling against it behaves a little differently from one rolling with it. That is why fitting direction matters: Strachan states that the nap on 6811 is laid toward the foot end of the table, On a snooker table that grain is part of the game. On an American pool table, where most shots run in every direction, it is a variable most players would rather not have.

Hainsworth markets its heavier woolen Smart on durability. But the nap is a raised surface, and loose surface fibres are what turn into pills and fluff. Worsted avoids that by design: Simonis says its 760 "will not pill, fluff or shed", and the WPA writes the same requirement into its spec. Worsted wears by thinning and by "ball burn", the pale marks left by skidding balls; Simonis credits the higher wool content of its 860 with reduced ball burning.

Care follows the construction:

1. Brush napped cloth one way. Work from the head toward the foot, with the nap, so you lay the fibres down instead of lifting them.
2. Vacuum worsted gently. Simonis allows a non-rotating brush head with limited suction, tested off the table first. Strong suction lifts and stretches the cloth.
3. Damp-wipe only after vacuuming. Simonis suggests a damp, not wet, towel, then a light brush once it is dry to settle any raised fibres.
4. Take stains to a dry cleaner, not a home remedy. Simonis asks you to tell the cleaner the cloth is worsted wool.

For step-by-step cleaning and stain removal see how to safely clean your pool table felt, and for chalk residue see whether chalk color stains your cloth. How long either cloth lasts depends on hours of play more than on the label; how often to re-felt covers the timing.

Watch for

A napped cloth fitted the wrong way round, or brushed back and forth, plays inconsistently and roughs up quickly. Ask the installer which end the nap runs toward before the rails go back on.

Neither Simonis nor Hainsworth publishes retail prices, and a per-yard figure on its own means little, because roll widths differ: Simonis worsted comes 66 or 78 in wide, Hainsworth Smart 44, 76 or 88 in. Cloth is usually sold as a bed-and-cushion set cut for one table size, and fitting is charged on top. To compare quotes fairly:

1. Name the exact cloth. "Worsted" or "tournament cloth" is not a product. Ask for maker, model and color, for example Simonis 860 in tournament blue.
2. Confirm the table size and pocket style. A 9 ft table needs more cloth than a 7 ft, and leather or drop pockets change the rail work.
3. Check what the labour covers. Stripping old cloth, refilling slate seams, re-leveling and re-stapling rails should be listed.
4. Ask about the cushions. If the rubber is dead, recovering over it wastes new cloth. See checks for dead rails.
5. Get it dated, with tax and currency. Cloth prices move, and a quote from last season is not a price.

If the table also needs slate work, the quote changes again; Italian vs. Brazilian slate explains what sits under the cloth, and who services a custom pool table after installation covers finding the right fitter.