Dog Hair/making something sentimental

Yes, right! Even if I fail with the spinning...I'll always have my sweetie's fur as a reminder of her and make some kind of project with it.

Originally Posted by Richard Eney

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

Hi
you may not be able to post photo's to this list, not all lists are for
sending files and photo's. Some are able to get them through though. It
also isn't always appreciated on some lists.
Have you a blog site or other photo online place to put them, there are
lots about, including Photo bucket, Shutterfly and tons more with free
online photo housing, then all you do is post a link to your pics on here.

Yes I'm afraid spinning for the first time ever, isn't altogether a very
easy job for some, and fibres need careful planning beforehand to get the
result you want and even then you don't always get exactly what you planned
in your head. To say nothing of preparation of any fleece or hair
beforehand.

However some do take to it like a duck to water, I sent Noreen some
homespun singles(unplyed) yarn that I'd dyed into shades of blues and
mauves, and she already had a wheel languishing in the roofspace/attic, and
decided to have a go at it, her hubby got it down and sorted it out for her,
and she was spinning within a few hours, it didn't phase her at all. Whilst
others get large lumps which we call slubs, and didn't want that, and as for
me? I couldn't fathom out how to ply although my actual spinning of the
single thread was neat and uniform, and Wooly was learning at the same time
and helped me out.....many moons ago now all this...but it's funny when you
look back.

I thought you meant a Yorkshire Terrier Silky what breed was yours then if
it is curly as I am not sure now what your dog looked like.

If it is as curly as a poodles hair then brushing would be the way to go.
However don't expect miracles when you begin to spin, you may find you have
it too tight, and it comes out like thin cord instead of soft bouncy yarn or
too loose and it doesn't hold together...
See there are all these things to learn to overcome, so that you are
spinning and it isn't like string and rolling back on it'self, and isn't so
loosely spun that it isn't any good at all.

I still think you ought to learn to spin before taking on this dogs hair of
yours, so that you know what you are doing and don't spoil it, or get
someone else to spin it for you, or you could end up with it not how you
want it and not useable as far as soft teddybear knitting is concerned. I
don't want to put you off either, it's just like anything new, once you've
learned you don't forget, but it is getting past the learning stage bit and
you really ought to consider picking up say 100- 200grms or so of fleece and
learning from that before you take on the only bit of dog hair you have...
put it into a tub with a lid to keep it safe, and buy some fleece and a
spindle on ebay or something .... learn to spin and then you will have the
confidence to tackle this dog hair, so that you get a useable yarn. Some
spinners on here may have a bit of fleece they can sell you really cheaply
just for you to learn on. If you were in the UK I would send you some, I
also run a uk list for spinners weavers and dyers felters etc but you have
to be in the UK to join us. However there is plenty of lists and groups out
there for any country and I belong to several of them.

hth Cher

"Y?" wrote in message
news
Hi
you may not be able to post photo's to this list, not all lists are for
sending files and photo's. Some are able to get them through though. It
also isn't always appreciated on some lists.
Have you a blog site or other photo online place to put them, there are
lots about, including Photo bucket, Shutterfly and tons more with free
online photo housing, then all you do is post a link to your pics on here.

Try http://tinypic.com/

Mary

Thanks y'll

You all are so sweet! I really appreciate all the detailed help and advice. I think I got spoiled when I was able to post Sassy's piccy! *lol* I uploaded piccy's of her hair from my photobucket site. Thanks Mary! Yes she is a silky terrier, but her coat is called a curly coat and is a bit wooly. Not like the regular silkies. I wish you were closer, Cher...I'd love to join in with your group.

Well, time for me to take the great leap of faith! *lol*

here's the link
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...inx/furtwo.jpg

Originally Posted by Mary Fisher

"Y?" wrote in message
news
Hi
you may not be able to post photo's to this list, not all lists are for
sending files and photo's. Some are able to get them through though. It
also isn't always appreciated on some lists.
Have you a blog site or other photo online place to put them, there are
lots about, including Photo bucket, Shutterfly and tons more with free
online photo housing, then all you do is post a link to your pics on here.

Try http://tinypic.com/

Mary

Thnx for the photo bucket pics, just tease it out with your fingers brush
and wash and rinse etc and dry thoroughly. Brush again and keep somewhere
safely stored. Least then when you are ready to spin or have it spun for
you, it'll be all ready.

higz Cher

In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Yes, right! Even if I fail with the spinning...I'll always have my
sweetie's fur as a reminder of her and make some kind of project with
it.

I just looked in the Holiday Knitting issue of Interweave Knits
and saw "Top 10 Picks for Gifts" listing

Handspun yarn from your Very Important Pets:
Brush your pet, send your fur, receive your yarn!
Toll free 866.pet.yarn or VIPFibers.com

No hint on price, of course... but it's a possibility.

=Tamar

They do this service here in the UK too, but obviously I didn't know what
they do where she is, I've never used any of these, although I know of
several people who send in whole fleeces to be carded into the woollen
factories.

Glad you found one of these.... good idea

higz Cher


"Richard Eney" wrote in message
...
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Yes, right! Even if I fail with the spinning...I'll always have my
sweetie's fur as a reminder of her and make some kind of project with
it.

I just looked in the Holiday Knitting issue of Interweave Knits
and saw "Top 10 Picks for Gifts" listing

Handspun yarn from your Very Important Pets:
Brush your pet, send your fur, receive your yarn!
Toll free 866.pet.yarn or VIPFibers.com

No hint on price, of course... but it's a possibility.

=Tamar

What if you didn't have a very hairy dog? Would they do a blend with
another fiber? I have a shorthair, and besides, he's very small.

"Y?" wrote in message
. uk...
They do this service here in the UK too, but obviously I didn't know what
they do where she is, I've never used any of these, although I know of
several people who send in whole fleeces to be carded into the woollen
factories.

Glad you found one of these.... good idea

higz Cher


"Richard Eney" wrote in message
...
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Yes, right! Even if I fail with the spinning...I'll always have my
sweetie's fur as a reminder of her and make some kind of project with
it.

I just looked in the Holiday Knitting issue of Interweave Knits
and saw "Top 10 Picks for Gifts" listing

Handspun yarn from your Very Important Pets:
Brush your pet, send your fur, receive your yarn!
Toll free 866.pet.yarn or VIPFibers.com

No hint on price, of course... but it's a possibility.

=Tamar

What you do is comb the dog and use the combings so this will come out as a
fluff more so than strands, if you've a long haired dog and it's been cut,
then it needs to be either combed or carded to produce the right type of
spinning material. I've spun a short haired cat fur before, so I would say
yes a short haired dog coat would spin, unles it is less than half an inch,
then I'd blend it with something else..like alpaca or something.. To make
sending it away to be carded and spun you'd have to collect a fair amount of
it to make it worth the money and thus get an amount of yarn back you can
use, and most is charged by the weight too.

higz Cher


"Mystified One" wrote in message
...
What if you didn't have a very hairy dog? Would they do a blend with
another fiber? I have a shorthair, and besides, he's very small.

"Y?" wrote in message
. uk...
They do this service here in the UK too, but obviously I didn't know what
they do where she is, I've never used any of these, although I know of
several people who send in whole fleeces to be carded into the woollen
factories.

Glad you found one of these.... good idea

higz Cher


"Richard Eney" wrote in message
...
In article ,
GoldSeraph wrote:

Yes, right! Even if I fail with the spinning...I'll always have my
sweetie's fur as a reminder of her and make some kind of project with
it.

I just looked in the Holiday Knitting issue of Interweave Knits
and saw "Top 10 Picks for Gifts" listing

Handspun yarn from your Very Important Pets:
Brush your pet, send your fur, receive your yarn!
Toll free 866.pet.yarn or VIPFibers.com

No hint on price, of course... but it's a possibility.

=Tamar

Hello Tamar, Cher....Everyone!

Thought I'd drop in a line on how I'm doing. I started as you call it *carding*. I must say that the fur is very matted but can easily be dematted. I carded a few piles and I have to say *oh my God* it looks beautiful! But as you say, Cher, when I tried to twist it, it untwists so I will have to ply the fiber. I'm going to do this all myself, but I can tell you that it will be a loving experience...every dematting, etc.

I was wondering, should I dematt first then wash? I thought I'd card it all first then wash it...then card it again. Which will go easy.

The colors are just beautiful, blacks brown and silvers and I'm very happy that I saved her last haircut.

I'll keep you posted! Thanks everyone!

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


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GoldSeraph