DOREEN'S CUSTOM DOG HAIR SPINNING

I’m Doreen and I live on a small farm in New York State with my husband, two Collie dogs, three sheep, and “Oliver”, my angora rabbit.  Luckily all of my animals are fiber producing pets because I’m a Fiber Artisan by trade. Although I wear many hats and have dabbled in most of the arts, my main focus is spinning and weaving.

  

My husband and I have restored our 19th century barn, and in one section we created a spinning and weaving studio. This is a picture of our barn just as a rain storm passed over and this beautiful double rainbow appeared.

 

I’ll talk a little about my spinning in this post.

 

I’ve always been interested in history and the simplicity of spinning on an old fashioned spinning wheel. I have three antique wheels, and although they are working wheels, they have worn parts and are a bit fussy to spin on, so I keep them for decoration only. I’m self-taught and purchased several new spinning wheels that are made in Poland and New Zealand. These new wheels are what I do all of my spinning on.

 

After having horses my whole life, I decided to get a few sheep to keep as pets and have their wool to spin. The horses are gone now, but I have an Icelandic ewe (female), and two Shetland ewe sheep. Gabrielle (Gabby), Jazzlyn (Jazzy), and Lucinda (Lucy). When I walk into the pasture they come running over to be scratched. But if a stranger is with me they’re extremely frightened and won’t come anywhere near me.  They’re sheared once a year in the Spring, and the wool that is harvested from them, each weigh about 3-5 pounds.  Gabby is gray, Jazzy is black, and Lucy is white. Because these girls are my pets, I keep all of the wool for myself so I can spin the yarn and make items for my family and friends.

 

Through this journey I developed a very unusual business. I knew that dog hair could be spun into yarn, and since we have Collies, I have an endless supply of fiber to learn on.  Dog hair is much harder to spin than wool because the length is short and it’s very slippery compared to the way wool fiber sticks together.  After a lot of practice I developed a technique of spinning dog hair, and became proficient enough to start a business called Custom Dog Hair Spinning, where customers from all over the country send me their dog hair to be spun into yarn and have a keepsake or product made for them.

 

The purpose of the spinning wheel is a very simple process where a loose mass of fiber is gradually drawn out, and the spinning wheel adds twist to the lengthening strand and turns it into yarn. Picture a plate of spaghetti and when you scoop up a fork full, more keeps attaching itself, and the higher you lift the fork, the never ending length of noodles just keep coming with no end in sight. It’s the same principal as the spinning process.  You start with a pile of fiber, and as you slowly pull a small amount out (which is called drafting), more fiber keeps attaching to the strand, and it’s pulled into the spinning wheel which twists the strand and makes a strong yarn. Then it continues to wind into the wheel and onto a bobbin as the amount of yarn grows. While you’re drafting if there is a break in the fiber length, you simply overlap a new piece and as it enters the twist section, it’s magically attached and you continue as usual. 

 

The process of drafting and twisting is basically how all yarn and thread is made for the clothes we wear. Commercial yarn and thread are made in factories with enormous machines, but they’re doing the same process as my simple spinning wheel, but on a much larger scale.

 

Fiber Arts is a passion for me, partially because of the connection with the past, but also because it’s a tactile trade, and it feels wonderful to have a lovely fleece of wool, alpaca, silk or dog hair run through my fingers. By engaging in this historical craft, I can produce a useable product with only my hands, without electricity or even noise.  I love to sit in the solitude of my studio with the only sound being the whorl of the spinning wheel, while looking out the window at my sheep peacefully gracing and my Collies laying at my feet.

 

Thank you Marilyn, for letting me tell my story.

 

Doreen

If you would like to contact Doreen, go to:

www.CustomDogHairSpinning.com/

 

Thank you Doreen for your post.  I really enjoy and appreciate your doing this for us. 

Marilyn