Pet hair spun into yarn?
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
United States
April 13, 2011 11:24am CST
So I took my kids to a basket weaving class over the weekend and my friend (who teaches this) was talking about how she is saving the hair from when she brushes her horse to spin into yarn (she does this with her sheep and is another hobby of hers) and to then weave into a bag or basket. I did not realize that during the day at some point my daughter (11 year old) had spoken to her about spinning her cat's hair into yarn. Apparently this can be done and she offered to teach my daughter how. This realization came to me this morning when I saw my daughter picking up her cats fuzz balls from around the house before her morning chore of vacuuming the house. I asked what she was doing and she said saving Spartacus's hair as though it was an everyday sorta thing. When I asked why she told me she would be making yarn with it. I am a little grossed out but then again wool yarn is sheep fleece so I guess I shouldn't be but I am a little. Has anyone else done this? With any pet's hair. I punched it into my search engine and apparently there is a whole business out of making yarn from pet hair. You send the hair to these places and they spin it into yarn, some will go so far as to make the yarn into items of choice and size! This is completely new to me.
4 people like this
13 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
13 Apr 11
hi opinionatedlady wow pet hair made into yarn, thats really
news to me. just think how weavers who have pets would love
to make items out of their fluffy or their Fido. then they
could brag to everyone how this is made of my kittys hair
or my doggie's hair. I would think the yarn might not be too
stable with the short hairs of a cat but they must be. Sounds
odd to me but like you say we know abut sheeps hair being woven
into wool. but am wondering if they make these items and sell
them what happens to people who are allergic to cats and dogs ?
If they are not told they might be really allergic..
2 people like this
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
13 Apr 11
The adds I saw where for people to send in the hair from their own pets so I would say the company figures people who are allergic wouldn't have the pets to begin with. No one mentions allergies though even with wool. I am allergic to wool and look something fierce when I wear or use anything with it as I break out with what looks like poison ivy.
@GardenGerty (160935)
• United States
14 Apr 11
Years ago, like almost fifty years ago one of my friends family raised angora rabbits. Her grandmother spun the fur into yarn and she had a sweater out of it.
1 person likes this
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
18 Apr 11
I know people who raise the rabbits for fur but none spin it. They line boots and gloves made of leather, very warm.
1 person likes this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
13 Apr 11
I raise wolfdogs. Their coats are different than regular dogs in that they are multilayered. The top coat is course & sheds water. The undercoat which they shed every year ( turning my blue carpet completely white ) is increduibly soft & warm. We've collected 2 full garbage bags full of this stuff which is softer than wool to have spun someday. If we had access to a wheel I'd try it myself.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
13 Apr 11
I can imagine. Those are some big dogs I bet you get a lot of hair! We had a Newfoundland/Shepard/chow mix and I know all about that fuzzy undercoat and to think of it we used to make jokes that we could make a sweater every time we brushed that lovable beast. How many bags will you collect before sending it out to spin? Also out of curiosity what do you plan to make from the yarn? lol.. your dogs probably leave hair from one brushing bigger then our cat!
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
14 Apr 11
What did she do with it? I mean do people wear it in sweaters?
1 person likes this
@snyderblog (82)
• United States
13 Apr 11
Oh yeah, I have seen where they do this with Llamas and El Pacas but now if there is money to be made... I have 3 silver sheperds and let me tell you the hair I got. I give them all a good brushing every weekend and even in the winter they shed bad. Sometimes we laugh that they have cottonballs coming out of their butts and sides. I would love some more information on this. Now if you could make a commodity out of dog poop, I would be a millionaire. HaHa
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
13 Apr 11
I could only wish dog poop was a commodity I wouldn't even worry about hubby going back to work! The site I was looking at most was http://www.vipfibers.com/ .
@snyderblog (82)
• United States
13 Apr 11
thanks I'm going to check it out. I'll let you know if I get rich.
Please do!
@AmbiePam (93833)
• United States
14 Apr 11
Have you ever seen Dirty Jobs, that show on The Discovery Channel? A couple of years ago they had an episode about a place that raised alpacas. And they would shear the hair on the alpacas and then give it to a couple of ladies inside the building nearby. Then the ladies would make the alpaca hair into sweaters. But what was weirder to me, was that one of the women spinning the alpaca hair into a shirt, also used her own hair to make herself a sweater. The host, Mike Rowe, was like okaaay...She had really long hair (and it didn't look too healthy), and apparently she collected the hair in her hair brush, took the hair she had when she got a hair cut, and then spun herself a sweater.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
9 May 11
Wow so you send her the hair and she makes whatever you want... some people find the oddest niches!
@yoyo1198 (3641)
• United States
13 Apr 11
I've heard of this but never really followed up on it. I just have one cat and the dog is short haired so I don't think I'd benefit from doing it. I do crochet daily but I use the regular yarns. The special yarns are so much more expensive. I figure the cat hair yarn would be rather costly after the postage and work charges.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
13 Apr 11
The prices looked pretty steep at least for my taste. My daughter though (if she gets enough) will learn how to do it herself.
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
14 Apr 11
I have heard of this as well. It is amazing and simplistic all at the same time. Imagine your pet supplying you with a garment from their discarded fur! I would really want to see how well the smell come out of it before I was able to wear it though. I have very sensitive allergies. I have always wanted to get Angora bunnies to collect their fur and spin it. This is one of those things on a long list of things I want to learn.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
18 Apr 11
It makes sense I just never thought of it. She will be collecting forever from her cat to have enough though.
@my_name_is_coco (4333)
• Philippines
16 Apr 11
some pet owners have their pet's hair spun into a yarn.mostly the long haired dog breeds have their furs clipped.the clippings will be spun into yarn.I don't think there is a problem with that.also,it looks interesting especially if there are different color patterns produced from the spun pet hair.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
18 Apr 11
Well I am letting my daughter go for it, it just is a little strange to me. There are much worse things to be done though.
@marie2052 (3691)
• United States
14 Apr 11
Believe it or not this is an age old craft. Not only were animals considered sacred, or offered at alters, some animals that belonged to some were buried with their owners.
In early times B.C. there was no part of an animal left unused. I have had the privilage to watch spinning wheels using, sheep, goats, moose, horse hairs.
I guess if you dearly loved your pet, maybe having the fur turned into yarn while alive and then knitted into something might help some people miss them less.
Thanks for sharing your interesting article. I am reading on Egyptian mummies right now and am amazed how many of the Pharoh's etc had their pet laid to rest with them.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
18 Apr 11
Oh yes they even did alligators as mummies. I know hair and fleeces have always been used and I have a lovely buffalo blanket that was my great grams from her Dad trading work with some one back in the early 1900's. It just took me a bit see why Any one would really want to. I guess I am not that sentimental..lol
