Dog Hair/making something sentimental

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away. I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

Heartfelt thankyou's

In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.
I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

First: there was (may still be) a book specifically about Knitting
With Dog Hair. Your library may be able to get it by Interlibrary
Loan.

Since you don't spin, maybe you could find a spinner by asking
at the local yarn shop if they know anyone who spins some of her
own yarn.

I am not a spinner but I've read some comments about spinning
and wool preparation. No doubt the spinners will be responding
to you soon.

If possible, it would be good to lay the hair out so that all
the cut ends are in the same direction. If you can get one of
those mesh bags sold for keeping socks together in the laundry,
you could carefully lay the sorted hair in it and then submerge
it in a wide pan (or tub) of hot water with dishwashing liquid.
Let it soak a while and then lift it (or just drain the water
if it's in the tub) and rinse in equally hot water. Then lay
it flat to dry.

A word of warning:
Notice what it smells like when it's wet. That's what the finished
object will smell like if it gets wet! Some people have had unhappy
experiences when caught in the rain and suddenly their apparently
smell-free scarf smelled like wet dog. Some dogs don't smell bad
when wet, but it's up to you to decide once you smell it. If you'd
rather not wear it, then your keepsake project should be something
that will stay indoors and dry - perhaps a couch pillow.

If the hair is very silky and doesn't stick to itself well,
then it should be mixed with something that will help it stay
together, either wool or mohair. I think the mixing would be
done in the carding process, but it might be possible to lay
it on top of prepared wool and then make strips of the mix
(called "roving") to be spun.

If "non-sticky" and the hair is spun by itself, it will
shed everywhere, like rabbit fur. It may shed a bit anyway,
even if mixed with wool. In that case, you might consider using
it to needlepoint a pillow cover instead of knitting one; being
sewn through the openings in the canvas might help hold it in place.

=Tamar

In article ,
Richard Eney wrote:
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.
I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

First: there was (may still be) a book specifically about Knitting
With Dog Hair. Your library may be able to get it by Interlibrary
Loan.

Since you don't spin, maybe you could find a spinner by asking
at the local yarn shop if they know anyone who spins some of her
own yarn.
snip

I just had another idea. After you sort and wash the hair, if
you can't find a spinner, maybe you could use it with a latch hook
canvas to latch hook a small shaggy pillow cover. Five inches ought
to be long enough to make the pile surface about two inches deep.

Another idea: you could knit something out of a nice grabby wool and
every so often knit in a hank of the dog hair. This would work for
a couch pillow or the for ends of a scarf that could be plain wool
in the middle. It could also be done that way for a decorative band
around a hat, or even most of the crown of a hat.

=Tamar

Hi ya
First of all, sorry for your loss.
I did have this book, thinking I would spin from my dogs combings (westies)
well I did once, but before I had the book I treated it as rabbit. However
I gave the book away as it was a long old job spinning dog hair. Some say
the smell never goes, it does until the item once spun and knitted gets wet,
like a hat in the rain, then you can smell dog, luckily for you the silky
terriers and the Westies don't smell too much as they both have two coats
and the outer coat is what you have combed off. So it isn't so strong as the
one coated types.

As it is that long, you'll need to comb it first, lay it into a tub or
something once combed, as it may be a bit fly away, then you can either wash
it first, by laying it into suds as you would fleece (I am taking it you are
already a spinner) use a good conditioner in the final rinse.. then dry it
on top of folded towels, once this process is done, I would lightly comb
it again and spin from it off your finger, unless you have a Hackle in which
case Hackle it as I did, if not then wind a few lengths over your finger to
give you a loop and spin from the loop.
However if you've a hackle, then do it that way, so much easier.

You can also add an alpaca or some merino to it if you wish to blend it to
give it more stability, cos like rabbit, it is so very fly away....or at
least mine was. Once spun and plyed wash again and hang with a weight you
can dye it and anything you want once you have it stable enough.

Oh if you intend to dye it before spinning, then do lay the fleece in a
vinegar solution to open the cuticles of each hair shaft and thus allow the
dye into the hair, and then when it's done wash rinse and use condition to
make sure the cuticles are closed again

HTH Cher
"GoldSeraph" wrote in message
...

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.
I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

Heartfelt thankyou's


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|Filename: mygirlsass.jpg |
|Download: http://www.craftbanter.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81|
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--
GoldSeraph

In message , GoldSeraph
writes

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.
I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

Heartfelt thankyou's


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: mygirlsass.jpg |
|Download: http://www.craftbanter.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+



I have a friend who used to spin dog hair for people then used to knit
it up as a soft toy dog as a reminder for them.
Shirley
--
Shirley Shone

http://www.allcrafts.org.uk

"Shirley Shone" wrote in message
news



I have a friend who used to spin dog hair for people then used to knit it
up as a soft toy dog as a reminder for them.
Shirley

Spouse once spun some for a friend but she never did anything with the yarn.
He thought it was ungrateful, he'd put a lot of work into it and didn't
enjoy it - mostly because of the smell.

Mary

Thankyou all, firstly for all your responses and great ideas! I have no experience at all with the preparation of the wool. Sassy's fur had very little odor. Mostly she picked up the smell wherever she was lying. She smelled like baby powder. I took a piccy of the fur so you all can see. Should I brush the fur out? Some of it has a little matting to it. I was a dog groomer at one time and I'm good with brushing it out . Can I use two twinkie brushes?

So I think I should detangle it before I wash it? After I wash it, can I spin it by hand? In other words, without a spinner?

You know I was also thinking I could make a nice teddybear out of her fur...as there is just a shoebox full of it. Thanks, Shirley for that tip. She was a curly haired silky terrier.

I think once I see how much wool I can get, then I'll figure out what to make.

Thankyou all, once again

Originally Posted by Richard Eney

In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.
I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?

First: there was (may still be) a book specifically about Knitting
With Dog Hair. Your library may be able to get it by Interlibrary
Loan.

Since you don't spin, maybe you could find a spinner by asking
at the local yarn shop if they know anyone who spins some of her
own yarn.

I am not a spinner but I've read some comments about spinning
and wool preparation. No doubt the spinners will be responding
to you soon.

If possible, it would be good to lay the hair out so that all
the cut ends are in the same direction. If you can get one of
those mesh bags sold for keeping socks together in the laundry,
you could carefully lay the sorted hair in it and then submerge
it in a wide pan (or tub) of hot water with dishwashing liquid.
Let it soak a while and then lift it (or just drain the water
if it's in the tub) and rinse in equally hot water. Then lay
it flat to dry.

A word of

warning:
Notice what it smells like when it's wet. That's what the finished
object will smell like if it gets wet! Some people have had unhappy
experiences when caught in the rain and suddenly their apparently
smell-free scarf smelled like wet dog. Some dogs don't smell bad
when wet, but it's up to you to decide once you smell it. If you'd
rather not wear it, then your keepsake project should be something
that will stay indoors and dry - perhaps a couch pillow.

If the hair is very silky and doesn't stick to itself well,
then it should be mixed with something that will help it stay
together, either wool or mohair. I think the mixing would be
done in the carding process, but it might be possible to lay
it on top of prepared wool and then make strips of the mix
(called "roving") to be spun.

If "non-sticky" and the hair is spun by itself, it will
shed everywhere, like rabbit fur. It may shed a bit anyway,
even if mixed with wool. In that case, you might consider using
it to needlepoint a pillow cover instead of knitting one; being
sewn through the openings in the canvas might help hold it in place.

=Tamar

Hi, this is what I would do...

1. Detangle by gently Combing

2. Wash by laying carefully in a bowl of hot suds...do not agitate, hair
wont' felt up so much but it can still matt back up. so just press it gently
but firmly down into the suds and soak a while...repeat if needed.

3. Rinse in same way without suds. Final rinse of conditioner.

4. Lay on towels to dry pressing it down to get out moisture

5. finally lay onto more towels and place somewhere warm to dry out

6. when completely dry...Re-comb to liven up the now flattened hair.


Not sure where to go to see the picture? Anyway, use ordinary dog comb to
gently comb it out so that you have all the hairs lying in one direction. A
needle padded dog brush will be ok if you are used to using this. Not sure
what twinkie brushes are but am presuming these are the needle pad type
ones, like mini carders. This could make the hair a little bit static, so
be prepared for this and to use a dog comb on it.

I'm guessing it will be all sort of grey and light browns in colour, so you
could have it so that the brown is mainly at one end, and the grey at the
other end.. Then if you spin it all from one length you will get a varied
stripe effect, thus an experienced spinner will be able to look at it and
advise you on the effects that could be gained from various ways of spinning
this hair.

If you don't have a wheel or a spindle to spin with, you could do it by
rolling it out on your thigh, but how about getting someone who does
spinning to do this for you? If you go to your library you may find a list
of local guild spinning members in your area who would be willing to do this
for you, for a small fee, maybe to help a charity out??

However if you want to have a go yourself, then buy or make a spindle and
drop spindle it, although I ought to say, that learning to spin on your
precious bit of hair may not be as easy as you think if you've never done
it before, and you could end up messing up your prized bits of hair. So be
prepared to loose some of it in trying..lol

Some types of dog hair will unspin it'self, as like human hair. A sheeps
fleece single 'hair' strand,as with all hair strands... under a microscope
has little tiles all the way down the shaft, but the difference with the
sheep fleece strand, is that at the end of each tile they have little curly
barbs, that hook into each of the other fleece strands and cling together
and thus you get felt.

The tiles open up when in a detergent or acid such as vinegar, and take in
the dye if being dyed, then conditioner smoothes all these tiles down again
and locks inthe colour. I've never seen a dog hair shaft under the
microscope,so am thinking this doesn't have these barbs, as I've not ever
seen a dog with felted fur..only matted fur, caused by bits of debris..
whereas sheeps fleece often have felted bits around its belly where they lie
on the ground and move around. Friction and often wet ground, causes this
felting process. So this also means that you can spin a fleece without it
unspinning it'self, because these little barbs, which look like hooks or
pigs tails in shape, cling to each other and hold the spun fiber
together..and you get spun singles (unplyed) yarn, good for crocheting.

SO presuming the dog hair is much the same as human hair in this respect you
may experience some ''fly away'' static, and thus a good conditioner would
be a must to help control this. I suggest a hair conditioner for flyaway
hair..
Maybe even a small amount of baby oil (or a solution of 3parts water to
1part babyoil) on the fingers of the person spinning it.

Some people take to spinning really easily and find it like second nature,
whilst others struggle to get the effect they want for ages and go through
alot of fleece trying. Remember too, that you will need to ply this hair,
and thus will end up with half or even a little less than what you have now.
Being silky and much like human hair, I would think it would unspin
itself...try twisting your own hair and just leaving it.....so will need to
be plyed.

HTH...higz Cher


"GoldSeraph" wrote in message
...

Thankyou all, firstly for all your responses and great ideas! I have no
experience at all with the preparation of the wool. Sassy's fur had
very little odor. Mostly she picked up the smell wherever she was
lying. She smelled like baby powder. I took a piccy of the fur so you
all can see. Should I brush the fur out? Some of it has a little
matting to it. I was a dog groomer at one time and I'm good with
brushing it out . Can I use two twinkie brushes?

So I think I should detangle it before I wash it? After I wash it, can
I spin it by hand? In other words, without a spinner?

You know I was also thinking I could make a nice teddybear out of her
fur...as there is just a shoebox full of it. Thanks, Shirley for that
tip. She was a curly haired silky terrier.

I think once I see how much wool I can get, then I'll figure out what
to make.

Thankyou all, once again

Richard Eney;728419 Wrote:
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:-

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.

I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would
be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?-

First: there was (may still be) a book specifically about Knitting
With Dog Hair. Your library may be able to get it by Interlibrary
Loan.

Since you don't spin, maybe you could find a spinner by asking
at the local yarn shop if they know anyone who spins some of her
own yarn.

I am not a spinner but I've read some comments about spinning
and wool preparation. No doubt the spinners will be responding
to you soon.

If possible, it would be good to lay the hair out so that all
the cut ends are in the same direction. If you can get one of
those mesh bags sold for keeping socks together in the laundry,
you could carefully lay the sorted hair in it and then submerge
it in a wide pan (or tub) of hot water with dishwashing liquid.
Let it soak a while and then lift it (or just drain the water
if it's in the tub) and rinse in equally hot water. Then lay
it flat to dry.

A word of

warning:
Notice what it smells like when it's wet. That's what the finished
object will smell like if it gets wet! Some people have had unhappy
experiences when caught in the rain and suddenly their apparently
smell-free scarf smelled like wet dog. Some dogs don't smell bad
when wet, but it's up to you to decide once you smell it. If you'd
rather not wear it, then your keepsake project should be something
that will stay indoors and dry - perhaps a couch pillow.

If the hair is very silky and doesn't stick to itself well,
then it should be mixed with something that will help it stay
together, either wool or mohair. I think the mixing would be
done in the carding process, but it might be possible to lay
it on top of prepared wool and then make strips of the mix
(called "roving") to be spun.

If "non-sticky" and the hair is spun by itself, it will
shed everywhere, like rabbit fur. It may shed a bit anyway,
even if mixed with wool. In that case, you might consider using
it to needlepoint a pillow cover instead of knitting one; being
sewn through the openings in the canvas might help hold it in place.

=Tamar


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+



--
GoldSeraph

Wow Cher!

That's alot of info I had no idea about! I think the piccy might have been too big. I've resized it, and will try again.

Yes, the twinkie brush is just like a little card brush. I'm thinking about when you explained what the sheep wool looks like and why it works so well. My dog's hair is much like a poodle's fiber. It's not straight. I hope the picture shows.

Well I've got my work cut out for me, eh? *lol* I hope my craftiness, pettipoint and art abilities all work in my favor!

Anyway, I'll post as I go along with this special project. It should be fun, nonetheless...I'll take it nice and slow. If I can say anything good about myself, it's that I have alot of patience and like detailed work.

Originally Posted by Y?

Hi, this is what I would do...

1. Detangle by gently Combing

2. Wash by laying carefully in a bowl of hot suds...do not agitate, hair
wont' felt up so much but it can still matt back up. so just press it gently
but firmly down into the suds and soak a while...repeat if needed.

3. Rinse in same way without suds. Final rinse of conditioner.

4. Lay on towels to dry pressing it down to get out moisture

5. finally lay onto more towels and place somewhere warm to dry out

6. when completely dry...Re-comb to liven up the now flattened hair.


Not sure where to go to see the picture? Anyway, use ordinary dog comb to
gently comb it out so that you have all the hairs lying in one direction. A
needle padded dog brush will be ok if you are used to using this. Not sure
what twinkie brushes are but am presuming these are the needle pad type
ones, like mini carders. This could make the hair a little bit static, so
be prepared for this and to use a dog comb on it.

I'm guessing it will be all sort of grey and light browns in colour, so you
could have it so that the brown is mainly at one end, and the grey at the
other end.. Then if you spin it all from one length you will get a varied
stripe effect, thus an experienced spinner will be able to look at it and
advise you on the effects that could be gained from various ways of spinning
this hair.

If you don't have a wheel or a spindle to spin with, you could do it by
rolling it out on your thigh, but how about getting someone who does
spinning to do this for you? If you go to your library you may find a list
of local guild spinning members in your area who would be willing to do this
for you, for a small fee, maybe to help a charity out??

However if you want to have a go yourself, then buy or make a spindle and
drop spindle it, although I ought to say, that learning to spin on your
precious bit of hair may not be as easy as you think if you've never done
it before, and you could end up messing up your prized bits of hair. So be
prepared to loose some of it in trying..lol

Some types of dog hair will unspin it'self, as like human hair. A sheeps
fleece single 'hair' strand,as with all hair strands... under a microscope
has little tiles all the way down the shaft, but the difference with the
sheep fleece strand, is that at the end of each tile they have little curly
barbs, that hook into each of the other fleece strands and cling together
and thus you get felt.

The tiles open up when in a detergent or acid such as vinegar, and take in
the dye if being dyed, then conditioner smoothes all these tiles down again
and locks inthe colour. I've never seen a dog hair shaft under the
microscope,so am thinking this doesn't have these barbs, as I've not ever
seen a dog with felted fur..only matted fur, caused by bits of debris..
whereas sheeps fleece often have felted bits around its belly where they lie
on the ground and move around. Friction and often wet ground, causes this
felting process. So this also means that you can spin a fleece without it
unspinning it'self, because these little barbs, which look like hooks or
pigs tails in shape, cling to each other and hold the spun fiber
together..and you get spun singles (unplyed) yarn, good for crocheting.

SO presuming the dog hair is much the same as human hair in this respect you
may experience some ''fly away'' static, and thus a good conditioner would
be a must to help control this. I suggest a hair conditioner for flyaway
hair..
Maybe even a small amount of baby oil (or a solution of 3parts water to
1part babyoil) on the fingers of the person spinning it.

Some people take to spinning really easily and find it like second nature,
whilst others struggle to get the effect they want for ages and go through
alot of fleece trying. Remember too, that you will need to ply this hair,
and thus will end up with half or even a little less than what you have now.
Being silky and much like human hair, I would think it would unspin
itself...try twisting your own hair and just leaving it.....so will need to
be plyed.

HTH...higz Cher


"GoldSeraph" wrote in message
...

Thankyou all, firstly for all your responses and great ideas! I have no
experience at all with the preparation of the wool. Sassy's fur had
very little odor. Mostly she picked up the smell wherever she was
lying. She smelled like baby powder. I took a piccy of the fur so you
all can see. Should I brush the fur out? Some of it has a little
matting to it. I was a dog groomer at one time and I'm good with
brushing it out . Can I use two twinkie brushes?

So I think I should detangle it before I wash it? After I wash it, can
I spin it by hand? In other words, without a spinner?

You know I was also thinking I could make a nice teddybear out of her
fur...as there is just a shoebox full of it. Thanks, Shirley for that
tip. She was a curly haired silky terrier.

I think once I see how much wool I can get, then I'll figure out what
to make.

Thankyou all, once again

Richard Eney;728419 Wrote:
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:-

Hi,
I'm new. I have a question. My silky terrier canine has passed away.

I was saving her hair to make a sentimental treasure from her.

I would like to make something like a scarf, hat, or any ideas would
be
appreciated. But I don't know how to prepare the hair/fur, i.e. like
washing it, spinning it. It's a bag full. Sassy's fur is not really
fur, it is considered hair as she was a non-shedding dog. The hair is
about five inches in length.

Can anyone help me with this?-

First: there was (may still be) a book specifically about Knitting
With Dog Hair. Your library may be able to get it by Interlibrary
Loan.

Since you don't spin, maybe you could find a spinner by asking
at the local yarn shop if they know anyone who spins some of her
own yarn.

I am not a spinner but I've read some comments about spinning
and wool preparation. No doubt the spinners will be responding
to you soon.

If possible, it would be good to lay the hair out so that all
the cut ends are in the same direction. If you can get one of
those mesh bags sold for keeping socks together in the laundry,
you could carefully lay the sorted hair in it and then submerge
it in a wide pan (or tub) of hot water with dishwashing liquid.
Let it soak a while and then lift it (or just drain the water
if it's in the tub) and rinse in equally hot water. Then lay
it flat to dry.

A word of

warning:
Notice what it smells like when it's wet. That's what the finished
object will smell like if it gets wet! Some people have had unhappy
experiences when caught in the rain and suddenly their apparently
smell-free scarf smelled like wet dog. Some dogs don't smell bad
when wet, but it's up to you to decide once you smell it. If you'd
rather not wear it, then your keepsake project should be something
that will stay indoors and dry - perhaps a couch pillow.

If the hair is very silky and doesn't stick to itself well,
then it should be mixed with something that will help it stay
together, either wool or mohair. I think the mixing would be
done in the carding process, but it might be possible to lay
it on top of prepared wool and then make strips of the mix
(called "roving") to be spun.

If "non-sticky" and the hair is spun by itself, it will
shed everywhere, like rabbit fur. It may shed a bit anyway,
even if mixed with wool. In that case, you might consider using
it to needlepoint a pillow cover instead of knitting one; being
sewn through the openings in the canvas might help hold it in place.

=Tamar


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+



--
GoldSeraph

In article ,
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Shirley Shone" wrote

I have a friend who used to spin dog hair for people then used to
knit it up as a soft toy dog as a reminder for them.

Spouse once spun some for a friend but she never did anything with the yarn.
He thought it was ungrateful, he'd put a lot of work into it and didn't
enjoy it - mostly because of the smell.

Another idea: instead of spinning it, just wash it and then use it to
stuff a small toy or pillow. Admittedly you don't get the same effect,
but the pillow could be embroidered with a picture of the dog.

=Tamar