Wish you could do something about your dog’s shedded fur? You can now sell it for £100!

As the common saying goes, a dog is a ‘man’s best friend’, so saying goodbye to one is never easy. 

Last week we were sent what initially felt like a bit of an odd dog-related request, but on reading further, we realised there was nothing odd about it at all, in fact it made complete sense and pulled at our heart strings. 

A maker from Scotland emailed in asking if we could help her source some dog fur to create a ‘comfort jumper’ for her elderly Mother, who is still grieving the loss of her Yorkshire Terrier, but is now too old to own another dog. 

Although the use of dog fur in crafting and clothes-making is resourceful, it’s certainly not regular practice, and unfortunately we don’t stock or know of any other company that sells ‘dog fur’ yarn. 

But before you squirm at the thought of wearing your dog’s shedded fur, it’s worth noting that dog fur is a historic material that’s actually been used to make clothes for hundreds of years. In fact, dog fur yarn is called Chiengora, and dates back to prehistoric Scandinavia and was the main fibre used in North America before foreign influences introduced sheep! 

Although we can’t provide dog fur to this woman, we’re sure there’s dog owners out there who are happy to scoop their dog’s fur off the floor and post it to her. She’s willing to pay £100 for 500g of fur, so she can spin 1200 yards of wool to knit with. Colour is not a factor, so if you have a white husky or black collie, feel free to start brushing your pooch, however hypoallergenic dog fur isn’t suitable because the customer would like the jumper to simulate her Mother’s previous dog as much as possible. 

Here’s the original email she sent to us:

The email stated:

"Hi there,

I’m wondering if someone could help me. I’m looking to buy some yarn made from dog fur but see that you don’t stock it and can’t find any other company in the UK that does. (it is a bit of an odd material to work with haha!!).

My elderly mother is now too old to look after a dog, but desperately misses her old Yorkie who died 6 years ago. Not a day goes by when she doesn’t mention him.

I thought I would surprise her with a comfort jumper that reminds her of her old dog but have no idea where to get so much fur (I’m not a dog owner and to be honest I’d rather not ask my friends as they may think I’ve lost my marbles!).

I’ve got about £100 to spend on 500g of fur, which is how much I think I’d need, please advise if this is unrealistic! Do you know of any suppliers who can help source some fur for me? I’m also happy to pay for postage to Scotland where I live. I’m a very handy crafter and more than capable of making the yarn myself so just looking for pure fur at this stage if no already spun dog yarn is available. I’m not too fussed on the colour of it, but would like it to come from a non-hypoallergenic dog to remind Mum of her old boy, Darcy, as much as possible!

If you think you could help at all, I’d really appreciate a reply or a call on [redacted].

Thanks,

[redacted]"