Dog Hair

[Cordelia]

Can anyone tell me the ideal length of dog hair for spinning? TIA

[fruggs]

i read in creative knitting that the under coat and should be at least an inch and a half here is a link http://newsletters.drgnetwork.com/, hopefully that works if not i can email you a copy of the newsletter. it is all explained in there. :)

[jacqui]

Hi i am an aussie spinner i have spun dog hair and can tell you that the longer it is the easier it is to spin. But in saying that it is not impossible to spin shorter hair if you are willing and a little more experienced with your spinning. I would suggest if in doubt try carding some of your dog hair with wool i have done it and the results are lovely. Dog hair needs a little extra twist to hold itself as its a litttle slippery. You also need to use the soft undercoat rather than the coarse outer coat depending on the breed.Happy spinning Jacqui!

[donnalynn2]

Hi i am an aussie spinner i have spun dog hair and can tell you that the longer it is the easier it is to spin. But in saying that it is not impossible to spin shorter hair if you are willing and a little more experienced with your spinning. I would suggest if in doubt try carding some of your dog hair with wool i have done it and the results are lovely. Dog hair needs a little extra twist to hold itself as its a litttle slippery. You also need to use the soft undercoat rather than the coarse outer coat depending on the breed.Happy spinning Jacqui!

Thanks for the info. I have 2 little dogs. One is a Maltese-Poodle and the other is a Min Schnauzer/Min Poodle... They both grow like weeds (their fur does) We have to take the MaltiPoo almost every 2 months or you can't even see his eyes... I was thinking of just asking the groomer to keep his clippings for me. Is there something more specific I can ask for? He's usually more than an inch when we shave him down. The other one isn't quite as bad, but I may just have her wait longer for her next groom so that I can get good hair... I haven't tried spinning yet but I really like the idea of making something with their clippings!!!!

[jacqui]

hi Donnalyn, your groomer would keep your babies hair i'm sure. The only thing i would suggest is that you ask to have your dogs washed before they are clipped to make it easier for you to prepare the hair for spinning.When you prepare the hair you must sort out any rubbishy bits you don't want, then if you don't have a drum carder of your own you will need to use a flicker brush.To use the flicker brush have a wooden board or an old magazine on your lap. Take a small amount of hair in one hand and brush the hair until it is separated and airy. This makes for ease of spinning and if you take the time to prepare properly your end product is much nicer.When you have spun your dog hair skein it on a niddy noddy or the back of a wooden chair tie it in a few places with some scrap wool. Then to wash it you use warm water with a dash of vinegar or lemon juice some of your shampoo, imerse the skein without agitating it until the water is cool. Then rinse in warm water with some conditioner and gently squeeze the skein do not wring and hang to dry.Lots of luck have fun! Jacqui:cheer

[goldi316]

In addition to Jacqui's excellent instructions, you may find more information here: http://www.vipfibers.com/index.php This is a company that does this professionally. They have a page on their site that gives pretty good info on how to collect your pet's hair in preparation for spinning it, and other pages give details on how they process it - similar to what Jacqui said.

[HappyknitandcrochetFreak]

This is really interesting, have never heard abot spinning dog hair earlier:blush

Thanks for sharing:hook

[jacqui]

I just checked out that site and it's absolutely terrific thanks Goldie. We don't have anything like it in Australia. Jacqui