Spinning Pet Hair

This is funny for two reasons: Vatito, our dog, pictured here had very short hair and I could never spin it. The second reason is that one time I went to the Droguerie in Paris, a really cool yarn store with fabric, buttons, all kinds of supplies. A very modern shop that also sells kits such as a top of a child’s dress to knit and the fabric to sew around the bottom. A fun combination I should explore again.

Anyway, at check out a gentleman talked to me a little bit and said: it is strange, in the US he heard people spin dog hair.

It’s funny, I don’t think it’s weird but then again I think sometimes most people think I am weird.

I have spun pet hair while working at Lambspun of Colorado. That was my first introduction to it. Since I was learning to spin there it didn’t seem like to much of a stretch to spin sheep fiber and then dog fiber.

Since then I have spun the fiber of a friend’s dog, a white Pyrenees, and it was really nice to knit a cardigan for her and knit the cuffs, neck and borders with her dog’s fiber. Pete was his name. It was special to do this because after he died someone in her family - I think her niece - had a cardigan with a loved pet’s fiber in it. I love that very hand-made, specialty and connection that goes with spinning pet hair for my customers.