Dog Fur, The New Alpaca

Dear Dog Lady,

One morning, I was outside with my dog play group, where you’ll find me most mornings. I sip a Dunkin Donuts regular and chat while my Bernese Mountain dog, Gilda, romps with the pack. On this day, the ladies and I were talking about shedding and how to deal with all that excess hair that comes off our dogs. One woman said she leaves the fur fuzz for the cleaning lady. Another said her husband is allergic so she must scour every day with a strong vacuum that has a HEPA filter. I spoke of the bagfuls of fur that come off Gilda when I brush her. There’s so much Berner fur I feel I could spin it. Someone then suggested I do just that – spin yarn and make sweaters or shawls from Gilda’s coat. What do you think? Could this be a viable home business?

- Joyce, Newton, MA.

Joyce, let me turn the tables and ask you a question. Since you obviously don’t live on Plimoth Plantation, where do locate a spindle? Do you know how to spin? Perhaps the Cambridge Center for Adult Education offers such a course. But imagine the arduous task ahead of you: First, you must learn how to spin all those bagfuls into yarn. Then, you must brush up on your knitting or weaving skills. Then, you must find a chic pattern for a fashionable garment – a couture rhapsody in black and tan (Dog Lady tips her top hat to the late, great Duke Ellington).

It is impressive that you want to spin Berner fur into gold. But I believe it would be too much trouble to turn your dog’s dander into a cash crop.

Can you see yourself wearing a sweater made from Gilda? Can you see anyone else bragging about their exclusive “Gilda-wear.” Even members of your dog group, on frosty mornings, would be loathe to stay warm in coats made from Gilda’s coat because the whole notion of wearing the hair of the dog is just too strange – no matter how you spin it. You may drape yourself in alpaca and lamb’s wool, but you didn’t intimately know the alpaca or the lamb.

Best to let sleeping dog’s sloughed fur lie out for the trash collector.
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Since she wrote this, Dog Lady has been needled by knitters who take exception to her cautionary comments about spinning dog fur into garments. Here's a sampling:

Dear Dog Lady,

I read your reply to Joyce, who wanted to spin her dog's fur into yarn, and my eyes actually got big and cartoonish. It's a horrible thing to discourage someone from doing something that has inspired them. I'll grant you that if Joyce did not want your input, Joyce ought not to ask, but if you did not want input on your site, you would not post e-mail. :)

Is spinning awkward at first? I reckon it is, but much like knitting itself or typing, muscle memory develops quickly and soon it's old hat. Mostly I object to the overall "tone" of your reply; subtly mocking ("dog fur yarn, the new alpaca!") and needlessly negative. What I got out of it was, "don't bother because it's too hard", and "people will think that you are weird."

Nothing you truly want to do is too hard to do, and with all due respect, who the hell cares if other people think you're weird? Again, I realize that Joyce did ask for your opinion which you freely gave, but scorning somebody's inspiration probably isn't the best way to go about answering."

--Carie

"Wake up and smell the roses, hun. . . Fiber arts are in. You, on the other hand are apparently out of the loop. Way, way out."

--Rachel

"Dog Lady, many people spin dog hair and wool these days. It's a fun, satisfying hobby. As far as dog hair, there's an entire book devoted to the subject. Check it out, and share it with poor Joyce."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312152906

--Cate

Dog Lady replies: Obviously, these knitters feel Dog Lady has dropped a few stitches. Maybe she's out of the loop on the fiber arts, but the thought of knitting with yarn made from dog fur -- even a Cardigan Corgi -- seems strange.

Posted by Dog Lady at February 26, 2003 12:00 PM