After getting Snowy our first Airedale, I heard that it was possible to have wool made from dog hair that was it I became a woman on a mission. A couple of years went by with no joy then with the wonders of the Internet, I found a “Spinners, Weavers & Dyers Guild”. I contacted them asking if someone could spin my Snowy’s hair, the woman was extremely helpful and suggested I tried spinning it myself. One of their members lived nearby and offered to come to my home and teach me how to spin. A lot of spinners don’t like using dog hair because the amount of work involved with it.

Sheep fleece has a natural crimp which makes it easier to spin; dog hair does not have this that is why I find it is best to use a 50/50 mix of dog hair and fleece. When washing a woollen item it will more or less go back into shape, dog hair on its own will not do this. Also dog hair does not breathe; it would be too warm for comfort on its own.
Before I started spinning I just thought wool was just wool, it was made from a sheep fleece and didn’t think much about it.  When I started spinning, I was amazed at the different types of fleece and the variety of colours, lengths and textures.

Rather than start dying fleeces, I decided, I wanted to use natural coloured (rare breed) fleeces.  Dying wool is another subject: For example, using onionskins you could dye wool that would resemble the Tan hair of an Airedale.

I normally use Manx Loghtan fleeces which are ginger in colour, very similar to the Tan Airedale hair and for the black hair any black fleece can be used.

When using fleece, it can be washed prior to blending to remove the dirt and lanolin or it can be used raw as it comes off the sheep.  I prefer to use raw fleece but it can be a rather dirty job however I do find it blends better.

Before spinning, the hardest part is blending all the fibres together.  I use a pair of Carders, similar to giant wooden slicker brushes.  I put a layer of fleece then dog hair then another layer of fleece and continue this process, drawing one carder against the other until all the fibres have been transferred from one carder to the other.  I then repeat the process, until the fibres have been well blended.  This is then removed from the carder and is called a Rolag. When I have enough Rolags I spin them onto a bobbin.  Once I have filled two bobbins I put them onto a holder called a Lazy Kate, this is a frame that holds the bobbins for plying. Plying is where two or more spun yarns are twisted; this is done by spinning the wheel in the opposite direction to which they were spun.  Similar to rope or string, this gives added strength to the wool.  I then ply the spun wool from the bobbins.

Once it has been plied it is then wound into hanks.   The hanks are then washed, to remove the dirt and lanolin.  It is then washed in a wool hand wash soap solution, such as Stergene, Lux Flakes then put in fabric conditioner.  Once it is dry, it can be wound into balls ready for knitting.

How to collect hair for spinning

When collecting dog hair for spinning make sure it is at least an inch in long.  In addition to this please keep the colours separate, for example with an Airedale, keep the saddle (black hair) separate from the legs (Tan hair).  O.K., you may want a garment made in one colour, I advise you to then just use one colour from your dog.  When mixing all the colours together you lose the colours of your dog.

If you have a black and white dog, you don’t want to end up with grey wool.  It is lovely to have something made from your pet, but even nicer when it resembles like them.  This is why I match up the fleece colours to the dog hair, i.e. Manx Loghtan with the Tan Airedale hair then you end up with gingerish coloured wool.

It is also important to make sure that their hair is clean as I have to spend a lot of time handling the hair.  Please ensure there are no remnants from their walk in along with it such as grass, plants or any surprises they pick up on their way.  Also that there is no flea powder in the hair, this is for health reasons.

If you go to a Groomer tell them that you want the hair left long in length.  Please don’t get me wrong, Groomers do a good job but their job is to cut the hair away.  They don’t realize the hair needs to be kept long for spinning, so they do their job and go in with the clippers repeatedly until the hair has gone.  With the result you end up with loads of hair about half an inch long.  So you must let them know that you want the length kept.

You can use hair cut from your pet or hair collected from a brush.  The best hair to use is the short undercoat, the fluffy stuff collected on a slicker brush.  The final product depends on how soft your dog hair is.

The hair is best stored in paper bags.  Dog hair will sweat and smell if stored for any length of time in plastic.  When sending it in the mail, wrap it in newspaper and put it in an envelope.  Should the envelope tear, the newspaper will then prevent it falling out of the envelope.

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