Abstract: A papermaking felt having interwoven warp and filling yarns on its face side and bulky rib forming yarns on its machine side, the rib forming yarns lying in spaced apart relation to define water conveying channels therebetween, there being a batt surface on the face side of the fabric needled through the warp and filling yarns and into the rib forming yarns, the rib forming yarns being impregnated following needling with a resin which renders them essentially incompressible, the rib forming yarns being initially attached to the warp yarns by holding yarns which may be removed prior to the application of the resin or retained as a permanent part of the felt.