To harvest dog hair for making wool, there are just 3 easy steps:
1. Brush. No blades.
Hair must be brushed out to be spinnable. Brush, comb or rake only. No cutting, no Furminator, and clip at your own risk.
Pro Tip 1:
As you (or your groomer) harvest hair, you will notice that some hair is shorter than other hair — for example, leg hair is shorter than torso hair. That shorter hair will shed out of your finished garment later. It can be used for stuffing (if, for example, you’re getting a teddy bear) but if you want to minimize lint on your non-chiengora clothing, do not include the short leg or face hair with the body hair. Short-term attention provides long-term benefit!
Do not save tail hair or hair from the hindquarters. It is much thicker and wirier than the undercoat and will make the yarn very undesirable.
Pro Tip 2:
Mats cannot be undone. If you have mats in the hair, toss the mats. Likewise, if your dog has a lot of vegetable matter in the coat, such as grass, leaves, burrs, twigs, seeds, and so forth, first brush to get all of that out of the coat and throw that hair out. There is no easy way to separate it out from the hair, and if you send us hair full of vegetable matter, we have to charge you extra to pull it out.
Mats and hair full of vegetable matter are only good for compost.
2. Bag.
Just put the hair in a bag, and shut the bag. Any bag will do, just don’t pack the hair tightly for a long period of time. Think of it like a down comforter or sleeping bag; you only pack it tightly for short periods. Like when you’re going to send it to us. For that, Space Bags are great.
Make sure that the hair is completely dry. Do not store hair with any moisture. if you live in a humid climate, include some dessicant (material that absorbs moisture) in whatever you use to contain the hair. Damp Rid is available at most big box stores and works well for this purpose.
3. Bank.
Use the “Contact Us” button (to the right or down below) so that we can give you shipping information. Local drop-offs are fine; and mailing is cheap because it weighs so little!
If you want us to store your dog’s hair while waiting for work to begin, we can do that. We bill storage fees annually; we provide periodic freezing and lofting, low humidity and pest control. If you are keeping your hair until it’s time to begin, remember to keep it completely dry, very loosely packed, and if you can, freeze it for at least a week at a time every couple of months.
Note: if your dog has a skin condition, it’s best to bathe your dog, then allow the coat to dry thoroughly before brushing. Excessive skin flakes can cause matting even after brushing. And mats cannot be spun.
Questions? Click on the “Contact Us” button to ask, and we’ll get back to you right away!