Dog Hair Felting
This is a throw back post I thought you might enjoy because there have been a few people asking on Facebook about felting with dog hair. Just like sheep there are different kinds of dog hair and even the top coat and undercoat on every dog so you need to do a test piece for every new breed.
Recently I was asked to make something out of dog hair in memory of the dog it came from. Originally the woman asked a friend of mine to spin the dog hair so it could be woven into something. The hair was to short for that so she suggested talking to me. I wasn’t sure about doing it but she was so emotional I said I would give it a try. She had a large bag of hair that was quite short. The problem was she wanted me to use as little wool as possible and not to blend it. From My dog grooming days I knew this kind of curly coated small mixed breed dog felted their hair while wearing it so I was hoping it would do it here too. I laid out a base of wool and then add a thick layer of dog curls to the top. I made a sample that turned out quite well, I showed her and she agreed to me making a pillow and stuffing it with the remaining hair.
Here is one corner as I started to add the dog hair. You can see the blob of hair I am working from.
Here is the finished pillow.
and a close up of the texture.
The only problem with this felt is it sheds a lot. With the dog hair being so short, the really short straight dog hair sheds out very easily. Fortunately she will not be using it as a pillow but putting it a way to remember him.
24 thoughts on “Dog Hair Felting”
Wow, that turned out really nice, Ann 🙂
What kind of dog was it?
I was given a smallish bag of beautiful white dog hair to create a felted keepsake for a friend. I have not yet done the project. I was thinking of making prefelt with it, cutting the prefelt into a heart shape, and then using that prefelt heart along with other fiber to create a simple image that might be mounted on card stock and framed. I appreciated this post very much — the pillow image is so lovely — those curls are so tender. What a wonderfully creative, beautifully-crafted keepsake. Thank you for sharing!
Great job, Ann. I’m sure she will treasure it.
Zed, He looked like a little poodle/lhasa or shih tzu type cross. He passed away about several years ago. She has been trying to find someone to make something for since then.
woolly bliss, I am glad I could inspire you. It’s not as hard as I though it would be. if I had only had a small amount of hair i would have done what you suggested. the pillow ended up 18 inches by 18 inches (46cm x 46cm) and it is stuffed with the left over dog hair.
Thank you Ruth. I am afraid she will cry when I give it to her.
That’s a very swwet thing for you to do!
I remember on my last felting retreat a lady made a giant (2 metres wide by 3 tall) walll hanging of her old dog. The background was wool, and then picture of the dog was in the dogs hair. It actually felted in really nicely ( i think its hairs were longer than yours) and ended up look exactly like her old dog!
That sounds like quite a big project.
That turned out really nice Ann, i’m sure she will definitely cry when you give it to her xo
I have a Sheppard akita cross who sheds 3 times a year! He has beautiful under coat, a creamy tan, which I think Will felt well. My problem is the guard hair is very stiff and banded black, cream and tan. How can I remove the guard hair so it won’t ruin the finished felt?
The only thing to do is dehair it. You can pick them all out but that takes along time if there are a lot. Usually what you do is comb them with either English or Viking combs. If you have a spinning guild near you, you maybe able to rent them. There are videos online showing how to use them. They separator the short fluffy fibers from the long course ones. perhaps one of the fiber prep groups on facebook would know how to do it without combs. I am sorry that I don’t.
Thanks, I’ll see what I can find. It helps to know what to look for.
I am making pompoms and trim them afterwards so have lots of short fluffy wool trim. I was wondering whether i could felt it or if it would be too short. If you can felt pet hair it might work. Did you think about sealing it with something to stop it shedding? I might give it a go 😊
If the pompom yarn is 100% wool there will be no problem turning it into felt on its own. If the trimmings are fluffy – even if the yarn is synthetic – you could mix it with wool fibres as they should latch on during felting. Try a small sample to see how it works.
i was thinking of making a scarf using my baby bichon freis soft angora like fur, do you think it would nano felt into a scarf?
If it was fine enough but without some wool to hold it. Even though it is soft it is smother as well so tends to shed out.
many thanks for your reply, it is the first cut of his baby hair, so it is like angora, I have a feeling it might just work, ill give it a try and let you know
thankyou for your reply I will use wool with it how much do you suggest for each layer of the dog fur
I put down enough wool that it would make a pillow on it’s own and then added the dog hair to the top. many thin layers is better than a few thick ones. I can’t really say how much as the size of the pillow and the type of the wool make a lot of difference.
Thanks that is more than i thought so i will purchase more wool.mausamor12
I added some rove to the fur and mixed the fur into it, it worked quite well thanks for your advice
Wonderful keepsake Ann!
She was really happy Lyn.
Last summer I felted Samoyed’s hair onto some sheep wool. It felted nicely but it sheds a lot.
Yes, it is a problem with dog hair.