I brush out my dogs outside. I’ve watched birds that nest in the trees around my house grab up the fur clumps and weave them into their nests. It makes sense that, if the birds can weave it into a nest, I could spin it into yarn. Unfortunately, my guys have pretty short fur…
I love my dogs, even though I am mildly allerigc to them. So, I would not be wearing their hair on purpose, though an awful lot of it does end up on my clothes.
I totally agree! I had a white shepherd (R.I.P. Misty 9/9/98-11/19/2010) and I used to always say that I could make 2 or 3 dogs out of the fur that she shed in just one brushing! We always brushed her outside, and it looked like we were having a blizzard!
Unless its hair from a basic brushing then this isnt cool. lol Shaving your dogs to make money off of their fur is a bit like a mild form of poaching animals just without harming them. lol
There is a rescue group where you can donate husky hair and they spin it into yarn. Then they make things from the yarn and sell them to benefit the rescue. Husky hair is incredibly soft and warm…who wouldn’t wear it?
I don’t wear fur as a rule, but I would not be opposed to shorn dog hair used for clothing. And you’re right, Husky owners could definitely make a mint off this idea! lol
Samoyed undercoat has been used for decades to make baby blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, etc. Don’t know about Huskies. Can’t see why not. It’s just carded into yarn like wool.
Yes, I certainly would! I have all the hair off of Baby, and have long wanted to learn how to spin, so I could make yarn from dog hair. This is NOT a new idea to me, I have talked about it for years! I do have a drop spindle now, but still need to learn how to “clean” the hair and how to “card” it.
As others have said, this isn’t new. VIP Fibers in Texas has been doing this a long time: http://www.vipfibers.com/ They made up my Belgian Tervuren’s fur into many skeins of beautiful yarn, but as someone else here mentioned, even though it felt beautifully soft, it was so itchy I couldn’t wear it next to my skin.
@mandy – that’s really great idea! Do you know the name of the rescue group? I don’t have a long hhair dog (boxer/pit mix & boxer rhoesian mix) but I’d like to see items they havee made
I wouldn’t want it. When wet it would smell like a wet dog. But most importantly, China would start selling it here. They already butcher and eat dogs.
Ancient peoples did it…I don’t think I’d prefer it but sure, I’ve seen the results from good weavers and the items look very cozy and hypoallergenic too.
At my job I am always COVERED in dog hair, and I will be sharing my home with a Great Pyrenees soon… he’ll have LOTS of hair that can be used as yarn. So why not?
ONLY hair from brushing your dog should EVER be used…dogs are different from us and NEED their hair to protect their skin from the heat AND the cold!! i think even the thought of commercializing use of dog hair by shaving them on purpose is a terrible thing….BUT if it only from brushing them and recycled into clothing, then that could be okay
You cannot shave a dog and make it into fiber, the stiff guard hairs are not spinable. Dogs like Cattledogs, Chows, Corgis, Huskies, dogs who “blow” their under coat once or twice a year are best suited for this. And yes, I know of several people who have had their dogs fur spun, and then made into scarves and the like. It makes for a nice memento when that pet has passed.
LOL! When my husky mix blew her coat twice a year, it looked like someone shredded cigarette butts and set them adrift on the breeze, lol. I used to joke about gathering it up and stuffing pillows with it, there was so much of it!
I see one problem with this…. if it gets mass production will there be husky mills? cages cramped with huskys just to shave them for there fur. Or once a dog reches a senior he loses his fur quialty, so what happenes to them then? Gotta think of the bad here as well
I send out my Husky/Akita mix to be carded every year, it never smells of wet dog because I wash it and lay it out to dry before sending it, I usually mix it with merino wool and knit blankets that are very,very warm.
I have always thought about that every time I brush my aussie. Don’t understand why some people think it is weird. If it’s clean and just what you collect when you brush how is it different from other animals.
My mostly wolf dog is blowing her undercoat and it looks like it has snowed all over my living room and yard. It clings to everything. Wolves only do this once a year so its bad. Next the guard hairs will fall out and she looks like an over grown coyote who’s under fed. Ughhhhh I am out of vacuum bags also. I have saved it in the past in ziplock bags for spinning someday.
I’ve spun dog hair, as well as wool, alpaca, buffalo, mohair, silk, flax…the list goes on. Dog hair is gathered by grooming rather than shearing so there’s no harm to the animal. You use the undercoat rather than the topcoat/guard hairs, since you need the crimp, or the waviness of the fur to spin properly. A lot of dog hair needs to be blended with long staple wool to spin well. Bottom line…the longer the length of the fur the better it spins. I’ve not tried to spin cat hair. Other spinners I’ve talked to have tried though and the cat hair seems to be problematic for spinning because it doesn’t have enough crimp. Having seen sheep prior to shearing, I can tell you that the dog hair is coming from a far cleaner animal that sheep are.
To us in the US this seems perfectly harmless. The sad truth is that real dog and cat hair is already being used in fashion, harvested from cats in dogs in China, killed in the cruelest of fashion. Youtube and google are full of gut wrenching information. This is not new and we have been fighting for years to get labels to stop using fur. As fun as the comments are there is a huge problem behind the idea. Please don’t encourage fur and fashion!
I might enjoy having a personal novelty made from my dog’s fur but no way would I promote it. You never know who will commercialize something like this, anything commercial will bring incredible amounts of pain and suffering to our four legged friends.
Many people have a potential “sheep” right in their house. In North America, indigenous tribes were spinning dog hair into yarn long before the Spaniards introduced sheep. Chiengora (pronounced she-an-gora), or dog yarn, is up to 80% warmer than wool, very soft, similar in appearance to Angora, and sheds water well.[1] To collect, simply save the brushings from your dog!
My Akita sheds twice a year, handfuls of undercoat come out at a time. I always have dog hair on my clothes so why wouldn’t I try something made with dog hair!
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I brush out my dogs outside. I’ve watched birds that nest in the trees around my house grab up the fur clumps and weave them into their nests. It makes sense that, if the birds can weave it into a nest, I could spin it into yarn. Unfortunately, my guys have pretty short fur…
Unfortunately, people would be trying to raise them& keep them only for work and not love. For animals it would not be good!!
i have a CHOWCHOW heard that was good hair to spin
I love my dogs, even though I am mildly allerigc to them. So, I would not be wearing their hair on purpose, though an awful lot of it does end up on my clothes.
I have Siberian Huskies and I could indeed knit several sweaters. My biggest issue would be smelling like a wet dog when it rains.
I think most of my clothes are 90% dog hair anyway, just by virtue of my dogs shedding on them.
We foster saints, this would be great!
if that takes off my 3 labs could make me a fortune daily!
Old news. This has been going on for at least 8-10 years…probably longer. I wouldn’t exactly call it a NEW trend.
if i kept all the dog hair of my white german shephard, i recken we could make a jumper a week! lol
I totally agree! I had a white shepherd (R.I.P. Misty 9/9/98-11/19/2010) and I used to always say that I could make 2 or 3 dogs out of the fur that she shed in just one brushing! We always brushed her outside, and it looked like we were having a blizzard!
My companion is a shepard…yep I’D WEAT HIS HAIR!!!!
So could Aussie owners and groomers
ooh I’m going to be a millionaire!
I wear clothing that’s covered in dog hair.
Dog fur sweaters are very warm so they’d be great in a cold climate.
I have and have friends who’ve been doing this for 20+ years.
And yes, wet there is a dog smell
of course… i’ve heard it’s really warm.
Unless its hair from a basic brushing then this isnt cool. lol Shaving your dogs to make money off of their fur is a bit like a mild form of poaching animals just without harming them. lol
this is kinda weird..
I would. To me it’s not any different than wearing wool and I understand it’s warmer.
Are you nuts, absolutely not.
only because it is sustainable. use the shedded fur. the smiling sammy’s fur is used like that as well as to stuff pillows.
Dog’s hair is itchy when spun & worn next to the skin. So you might want to knit something you wouldn’t wear.
But if it is just hair that has shed during their brushing than whatever floats your boat I guess! haha
No, I have allergies !!
Would I wear clothing made from dog hair? Most of my wardrobe looks like it.
Where can I make donations for designers? I have a bit of cat hair as well
ive seen this before. the sweaters and gloves look the same as any other hand spun fiber. havent been able to feel them yet, though~
ONLY if it is shedded hair….not from any other way!!!!!
cool!
Corella de’Ville
There is a rescue group where you can donate husky hair and they spin it into yarn. Then they make things from the yarn and sell them to benefit the rescue. Husky hair is incredibly soft and warm…who wouldn’t wear it?
Samoyed hair has been traditionally woven for many years.
makes awesome sweaters! i had a very hairy Aussie i used his fur and after a couple years had a sweater
Doubt I’d wear it, my allergies would protest but I have a husky who would be more than happy to donate.
I already wear dog hair 99.999999% of the time, why not? LOL! Throw in a bit of cat hair, and you have my wardrobe!
no i would not werr dog hair
I don’t wear fur as a rule, but I would not be opposed to shorn dog hair used for clothing. And you’re right, Husky owners could definitely make a mint off this idea! lol
Samoyed undercoat has been used for decades to make baby blankets, scarves, hats, mittens, etc. Don’t know about Huskies. Can’t see why not. It’s just carded into yarn like wool.
Yes, I certainly would! I have all the hair off of Baby, and have long wanted to learn how to spin, so I could make yarn from dog hair. This is NOT a new idea to me, I have talked about it for years! I do have a drop spindle now, but still need to learn how to “clean” the hair and how to “card” it.
I no some people used it for hats and scarfs for the homeless. Get idea, “recycle”!
this idea is not new. been around since the 70′s. animal hair is animal hair!
I already wear clothing coated with dog hair, so why not?
As others have said, this isn’t new. VIP Fibers in Texas has been doing this a long time: http://www.vipfibers.com/ They made up my Belgian Tervuren’s fur into many skeins of beautiful yarn, but as someone else here mentioned, even though it felt beautifully soft, it was so itchy I couldn’t wear it next to my skin.
Sheep hair, dog hair, what’s really the difference? If one doesn’t weird you out the other shouldn’t.
R u kidding me
I have two huskies, want some?
@mandy – that’s really great idea! Do you know the name of the rescue group? I don’t have a long hhair dog (boxer/pit mix & boxer rhoesian mix) but I’d like to see items they havee made
I wouldn’t want it. When wet it would smell like a wet dog. But most importantly, China would start selling it here. They already butcher and eat dogs.
Ancient peoples did it…I don’t think I’d prefer it but sure, I’ve seen the results from good weavers and the items look very cozy and hypoallergenic too.
At my job I am always COVERED in dog hair, and I will be sharing my home with a Great Pyrenees soon… he’ll have LOTS of hair that can be used as yarn. So why not?
I wear clothing…with dog hair on it…:)
better than wearing one made from dog fur ie pelts or pony skin…
And all of this time I have been throwing it out!
Omg that’s crazy!!! Absolutely not!!
I wear it every night on my head. My dog sleeps on my pillow.
))
ONLY hair from brushing your dog should EVER be used…dogs are different from us and NEED their hair to protect their skin from the heat AND the cold!! i think even the thought of commercializing use of dog hair by shaving them on purpose is a terrible thing….BUT if it only from brushing them and recycled into clothing, then that could be okay
if was brushed out, why not, when i brushed my dogs out. the birds would take it for their nests awwwwwww
You cannot shave a dog and make it into fiber, the stiff guard hairs are not spinable. Dogs like Cattledogs, Chows, Corgis, Huskies, dogs who “blow” their under coat once or twice a year are best suited for this. And yes, I know of several people who have had their dogs fur spun, and then made into scarves and the like. It makes for a nice memento when that pet has passed.
I’ll make some donations….our St. Bernards fur could provide enough ‘cozy’ to keep a small village warm in winter!
my clothing and my car seats already look like this. 8-D and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
LOL! When my husky mix blew her coat twice a year, it looked like someone shredded cigarette butts and set them adrift on the breeze, lol. I used to joke about gathering it up and stuffing pillows with it, there was so much of it!
And for those who prefer cat fur off a lint brush: http://www.etsy.com/listing/96726577/gray-tabby-cat-hair-bracelet?ref=sr_gallery_1&sref=sr_d59deb97fb6d6e25e72212cc868d8d66377d9af74fbc9d3ada3f8bf1e9faa602_1335217288_14242746_hair&ga_search_query=cat+hair+jewelry&ga_search_type=all&ga_ref=auto2&ga_category=jewelry&ga_view_type=gallery
I see one problem with this…. if it gets mass production will there be husky mills? cages cramped with huskys just to shave them for there fur. Or once a dog reches a senior he loses his fur quialty, so what happenes to them then? Gotta think of the bad here as well
I send out my Husky/Akita mix to be carded every year, it never smells of wet dog because I wash it and lay it out to dry before sending it, I usually mix it with merino wool and knit blankets that are very,very warm.
I could knit 2 additional dogs from the hair my dog sheds and like a lot of people I wear dog hair daily!
I hate people, each day more and more…
There are folks in the Highlands that actually do knit from dog fur !!!! x
i wear my dogs fur everyday already lol
I have always thought about that every time I brush my aussie. Don’t understand why some people think it is weird. If it’s clean and just what you collect when you brush how is it different from other animals.
My mostly wolf dog is blowing her undercoat and it looks like it has snowed all over my living room and yard. It clings to everything. Wolves only do this once a year so its bad. Next the guard hairs will fall out and she looks like an over grown coyote who’s under fed. Ughhhhh I am out of vacuum bags also. I have saved it in the past in ziplock bags for spinning someday.
Haha my clothes are constantly covered in my huskys fur shame she’s white and I like black lol!!
Wendy Buck Erichsen did you see this.
Oh yes I would! Dog fur on the other hand…
ugh…. no … and especially if it gives ideas to wacks out there to kill dogs to get the fur and it will i am sure…so NO!!!
Why not? People wear angora and cashmere and all sorts of other wool.
OK as long as the skin is NOT attached!
I’ve got a corgi who sheds ALOT! I wear dog hair everyday. Just keep it out of my food.
I’ve spun dog hair, as well as wool, alpaca, buffalo, mohair, silk, flax…the list goes on. Dog hair is gathered by grooming rather than shearing so there’s no harm to the animal. You use the undercoat rather than the topcoat/guard hairs, since you need the crimp, or the waviness of the fur to spin properly. A lot of dog hair needs to be blended with long staple wool to spin well. Bottom line…the longer the length of the fur the better it spins. I’ve not tried to spin cat hair. Other spinners I’ve talked to have tried though and the cat hair seems to be problematic for spinning because it doesn’t have enough crimp. Having seen sheep prior to shearing, I can tell you that the dog hair is coming from a far cleaner animal that sheep are.
never
Thanks, Cheryl. It’s well known amongst spinners and needs to be at least 4″ long if you don’t want the resulting yarn to drift apart.
I agree with you Barbara Cosgrove..
And we already know how China treat their dogs/animals..
I would indeed. As long as no dog suffered in the process.
my daughter has a long-haired corgi — I’ve been wearing that fur for two years — you can really see it on my black pants, black sweater…etc.
I already wear plenty of dog hair every day. With 6 dogs its hard to be hairless.
Only if I was Cruella DeVille.
Hell no!
I used to have a husky and there was hair out the wa-zoo everywhere, I had read that their hair is actually not soft enough to make good yarn.
To us in the US this seems perfectly harmless. The sad truth is that real dog and cat hair is already being used in fashion, harvested from cats in dogs in China, killed in the cruelest of fashion. Youtube and google are full of gut wrenching information. This is not new and we have been fighting for years to get labels to stop using fur. As fun as the comments are there is a huge problem behind the idea. Please don’t encourage fur and fashion!
NO.
Sure…why not?
Any animal fur should never be used. It should be the law!
I sure would!!!
I’m a groomer.. all my clothes are already covered in dog fur.
Though I don’t have a husky, I often find myself wearing dog hair, especially when I’m wearing something black.
as long as they’re using SHED hair and not the whole dog!
I might enjoy having a personal novelty made from my dog’s fur but no way would I promote it. You never know who will commercialize something like this, anything commercial will bring incredible amounts of pain and suffering to our four legged friends.
Many people have a potential “sheep” right in their house. In North America, indigenous tribes were spinning dog hair into yarn long before the Spaniards introduced sheep. Chiengora (pronounced she-an-gora), or dog yarn, is up to 80% warmer than wool, very soft, similar in appearance to Angora, and sheds water well.[1] To collect, simply save the brushings from your dog!
Not just Husky owners! My long haired Dachshund has hair so soft, it feels like Angora!
i already do everyday, I have a Golden Lab
My Akita sheds twice a year, handfuls of undercoat come out at a time. I always have dog hair on my clothes so why wouldn’t I try something made with dog hair!
Lets hope it just stays with the fur…idk