Ok, this sounds weird to me, but I'm forging ahead. My brother has a Husky who, every spring, sheds about a metric ton of fur. I spin yarn, and I've been tempted to ask him to save her fur for me to spin, simply because it's free fiber. But ... IT'S DOG FUR. I can't seem to get past that. Am I being ridiculous? Or is it reasonable of me to feel weird about making yarn from a dog? I can't figure out exactly why I am put off of it, especially considering how I am all in favor of animals contributing to their families however they can.
Dog Fiber?
- Thread starter foxish
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freemotion
Self Sufficient Queen
Do a google search. There is quite a bit of surprising stuff out there on spinning dog hair. I met someone 35 years ago who spun dog hair she collected from groomers.
JoieDeViveRabbitry
Ridin' The Range
It's not just you!!!
I had a gorgeous Bronze Newfoundland dog that I still have fur from that I was saving for spinning. But I just can't get past the whole "dog" thing either...
Well recently, a friend gave me an entire sheep fleece to clean, wash, card, and spin. Great winter project I thought to myself.
I started working on it about three weeks ago and it is slow going. Let me tell you, once you see how nasty a raw sheep fleece is you will not bat an eye at spinning dog and I will tell you that the dog fiber is probably a heck of a lot cleaner!!
You can still clean it, put the fiber in a mesh laundry bag like for lingerie and wash it that way.
But I'm telling you, once the smell of wet dirty sheep invades your kitchen, and you are manually picking out manure berries, hay, sticky goo balls of god knows what, etc. Seeing how much ick comes off that fleece in the water...
You can not appreciate how clean dog hair is.
Want some?
I had a gorgeous Bronze Newfoundland dog that I still have fur from that I was saving for spinning. But I just can't get past the whole "dog" thing either...
Well recently, a friend gave me an entire sheep fleece to clean, wash, card, and spin. Great winter project I thought to myself.
I started working on it about three weeks ago and it is slow going. Let me tell you, once you see how nasty a raw sheep fleece is you will not bat an eye at spinning dog and I will tell you that the dog fiber is probably a heck of a lot cleaner!!
You can still clean it, put the fiber in a mesh laundry bag like for lingerie and wash it that way.
But I'm telling you, once the smell of wet dirty sheep invades your kitchen, and you are manually picking out manure berries, hay, sticky goo balls of god knows what, etc. Seeing how much ick comes off that fleece in the water...
You can not appreciate how clean dog hair is.
Want some?
cutechick2010
Chillin' with the herd
I have a tri-color collie, and I have half way thought about what if this hair was spinnable. I don't spin though, so I would have to find someone around here that not only spins but would want to spin with dog hair, LOL. If I did, my goodness she could pay for her won feed all summer. Anyone who has had a collie knows that when the weather gets warm, you can spend an hour brushing and get a pound of hair. And then do the same again the next day!
DianeS
Ridin' The Range
I had a Samoyed for several years (before he died). That hair was just wonderful to spin!
It's still on the spool, though, I haven't decided what to do with it. Honestly, once it's made into yarn it just looks like yarn.
My hang up is that this is wonderful yarn, from wonderful fiber, from a wonderful former pet. I don't want to use it for something mundane. Maybe an artistic scarf, but I'm not a good enough knitter for that yet!
If you'd like some ideas for things you could make from dog fur yarn that won't be strange, how about something for the dog himself? You could weave a leash out of his own hair. Or a blanket for him to lay on. Or a mat for his food bowl to sit on. Things like that might help you get past the strangeness of it. Once you see the finished product it won't have so much of an odd connotation anymore and you could make other things next.
It's still on the spool, though, I haven't decided what to do with it. Honestly, once it's made into yarn it just looks like yarn.
My hang up is that this is wonderful yarn, from wonderful fiber, from a wonderful former pet. I don't want to use it for something mundane. Maybe an artistic scarf, but I'm not a good enough knitter for that yet!
If you'd like some ideas for things you could make from dog fur yarn that won't be strange, how about something for the dog himself? You could weave a leash out of his own hair. Or a blanket for him to lay on. Or a mat for his food bowl to sit on. Things like that might help you get past the strangeness of it. Once you see the finished product it won't have so much of an odd connotation anymore and you could make other things next.
MrsCountryChick
Ridin' The Range
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Yea the whole dog thing would be hard to get around, but I've heard of spinning dog hair & that the "dog" smell only comes from the dog & once it's washed & cleaned it's just like any other fiber.......just of lesser quality than the average fiber animals. Not that I've spun it personally. Good luck on your project! How about a dog winter sweater? 
Not that I've spun it personally. Good luck on your project! How about a dog winter sweater? patandchickens
Overrun with beasties
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My m-i-l has spun doghair and made a sweater and scarf from it and confirms that it does not smell doggy.
However, she feels it is best combined with some wool rather than spun 'straight'. I know there are people out there who DO spin just pure doghair, so evidently it can be done. But she doesn't think so, lol
Pat
However, she feels it is best combined with some wool rather than spun 'straight'. I know there are people out there who DO spin just pure doghair, so evidently it can be done. But she doesn't think so, lol
Pat
tortoise
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FYI - it's illegal to sell products made with dog hair. Probably one of those laws never enforced, but it's a good idea to not advertise or chat about it too much.
