Around the 5th Century A.D., the shepherds began using the sheep’s wool to help protect themselves during the cold winter months where the temperature can dip below 32º F (0º C). The first forms of the Flokati were shaggy or shag resemblances of the modern day Flokati rug, as the shepherds had yet to realize the full potential of the sheep’s wool. The origin of the modern day Flokati was a serendipitous moment. The Samarina shepherds had left one of their woven wool blankets in the waters of the Pindus Mountains, unattended for nearly two days. Once they remembered their wool blanket, the shepherds returned to the stream where they had left their wool blanket and noticed that the backing felted, and most importantly the wool had unraveled and flourished. This was the first, fully flourished Flokati rug. Little did the shepherds know that the wool they relied on to stay warm would become a luxury for millions upon millions of people around the world for centuries to come. It would become – the Flokati rug.
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