Abstract: A papermaker's felt is formed by needling a compressible batt layer onto one or both sides of a base layer woven fabric. The batt layer is formed from a mixture of at least two types of fibers. A first type is present in much smaller quantities than the remainder and has a melting point at a temperature below the melting point of the remainder. The felt is heated to a temperature between the melting point of the first type of fibers and the remainder, so as to melt the first type such that it bonds the remainder together and to the base fabric. The felt is then formed into an endless belt.