A lovely way to be closer to your pet, this custom product combines your pet's combed hair with our sheep's wool into a yarn skein that you can then knit or crochet. 
 
Making yarn from pet's hair is not new, so although less common now, dog hair can result in quite a nice yarn. Yarn made from dog hair can be used in a wide variety of applications, such as mits, hats and scarves, as well as other keepsake type items. 
 
The best fur for yarn is the undercoat hair. Dogs that have long hair and are double coated produce a softer, finer undercoat fur that is often well-suited to yarn. It is this pet hair you are aiming to collect with as few of their guard hairs as possible. Guard hairs are typically stiff and wiry, and not what you want to make a nice yarn out of. Just like a sheep, there are going to be parts of their body that have poorer quality hair that you want to separate out. Avoid collecting poor quality hair from the leg, tail and stomach for your yarn. Be selective when deciding what to keep for yarn and stick to collecting the best undercoat fur you can. It might take multiple combings over a multi-year period to produce enough. 

Dog hair for yarn should always come from brushings, not clippings. Just like guard hairs, clippings will contribute to an itchier and scratchier yarn that will be more challenging for you to utilize. This is why we only accept hair from brushings. It might take combings over a multi-year period to produce enough.

Brushings must have a minimum length of 3”. Staple lengths shorter than 3” cannot be processed by our equipment and will result in your pet hair being returned to you at your cost. 
Dog breeds we accept: Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Great Pyrenees, German Shepherd Dog, Kuvasz, Norwegian Elkhound, Newfoundland, Chow chow, Old English Sheepdog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Golden Retriever, Collie. If you have a breed with an undercoat that isn’t on this list, but that you think will make a good yarn, please reach out.

Storage: In some cases, you won’t have a pound of hair after one combing session so will need to store it until you have accumulated enough to meet our 1 lb. minimum. Pack pet hair loosely in a paper bag, carboard box, or pillowcase. All of these storage options will allow air movement. Don’t store it in plastic; a sealed plastic bag will ruin your pet hair. You can mat the fibre (which makes it unusable) if you pack it in too tightly.  

The Yarn:  All pet yarn will be blended. The final product will be 50% of your pet’s fur and 50% our sheep’s wool. We do our best to get as close as we can to your preference for yarn weight, however, custom milling at this scale is more art than science so we cannot make any guarantees. Yarn will be more variable than commercial yarn. 
 
Made to Order: Please note that this is a custom product that takes time to make. When you place your order, you will receive an email with shipping instructions and timelines. Current processing times mean you will receive your yarn 2-3 months after we receive your pet hair. 
 
2 lbs. = 3-5 skeins of light/medium weight yarn 
3 lbs. = 4-6 skeins of light/medium weight yarn
4 lbs. = 6-8 skeins of light/medium weight yarn
5 lbs. = 7-10 skeins of light/medium weight yarn
*Additional skirting fees will be charged if the pet hair requires extra sorting. Skirting fees are charged at $50/hour at our discretion. 
 
Images shown are of our Shiloh Shepherd and the yarn made with his recent combings. Custom yarn will vary by pet.