How to spin dog hair: equipment and methods at home

It has long been noted that it is the dog’s wool that is superior to sheep’s in many qualities. Those who do not throw away, but process the material obtained by combing their shaggy friend, act very wisely.

The effectiveness of this raw material has long been confirmed by traditional medicine.

In order to spin dog hair at home, you need to learn this skill constantly, acquiring the skill every day.

It’s wonderful when people know how to make things themselves from valuable medicinal yarn, while reaping great health benefits.

Healing qualities of yarn

Since ancient times, people have known how to properly spin dog hair. Everyone is well aware of the healing properties of yarn. It is widely used in the treatment of joint pain and colds. To obtain greater benefits, it is recommended to wear knitted products exclusively on a naked body.

Yarn in contact with the skin has an irritating effect and leads to blood flow to the sore spot. Gradually relief comes. A wide range of therapeutic and preventive effects of yarn on the human body have been noted.

But there are some peculiarities in how to spin dog hair.

Indications

A wool back belt is recommended for wearing by people engaged in heavy physical labor (loaders, production workers, athletes, etc.), often exposed to the cold, and people with a sedentary lifestyle (drivers, office employees).

Under these conditions, the belt will protect against possible back injuries (hernia, protrusion, pinching and inflammation of the nerve roots), and will also protect the internal organs from hypothermia and inflammation.

Doctors have identified a list of diseases for which the wool bandage has proven most effective:

• radiculitis;
• neuritis;
• osteochondrosis;
• rheumatism;
• prostate diseases;
• infectious and viral diseases;
• bronchitis, pneumonia and other ailments of the respiratory system;
• urolithiasis disease;
• pinched nerves;
• inflammation of the genitourinary system;
• hernias, protrusion of the spine;
• injuries and pain in the spine;
• back muscle spasm.

The therapeutic effect of such a belt is much higher than that of the well-known mustard plasters and cupping. For colds and coughs, this accessory is indispensable.

How does dog breed affect wool quality?

Selecting wool for spinning requires taking into account certain factors. For example, the down of a Husky dog ​​is hypoallergenic and odorless. It can be used for people suffering from allergies.

I would like to know how to spin dog hair at home and what breeds of long-haired dogs are best to use. For example:

• Collie is a Scottish Sheepdog.
• Sheltie.
• Samoyed dog.

While any dog's hair has been proven to be beneficial, the difference lies in the length of the fiber and its stiffness.

Tools for felting in the washing machine

The washing machine is used for felting on molds, bulk hollow products, as well as for final felting. Before putting the item in the machine, it must be felted by hand. The already fallen felt in the machine is further compacted and shrinks well.

Choose a standard mode, for example, for cotton. But the temperature should not be higher than 40-50 °C so that the dyed wool does not fade.

Spinning and rinsing is left light or completely disabled. Any soap - liquid or solid, grated - is placed directly into the drum or into the powder compartment. Felting time depends on the desired density of the product and the type of washing machine.

For felting three-dimensional products, use solid forms for deboning - jars, Easter egg blanks or plastic balls. They are covered with strands of wool, placed in a nylon golf course and rolled away.

In order to protect the machine filter from clogging, and the item from pilling, place it in a washing bag . You can buy it or sew it from cotton or tulle.

How to choose wool for spinning

It is very important to distinguish between the outer coat (long and harsh) and the undercoat (down).

Down is obtained by combing dogs. To obtain high-quality and durable thread, it is spun by hand using a spindle.

It is advisable to use only dog ​​fluff, but you can also use clipped hair. The resulting material should be well combed.

The longer the fibers, the better. It must be taken into account that in the end the yarn will be stiffer and prickly than that made from fluff.

When combing wool, you can immediately put it into different bags to figure out how to spin dog hair and with what tool. Place the soft fluff taken from the withers and back into one bag, and everything else into the other.

What products are made from cat hair?

Cat fur is used in different ways: for knitting and for dry or wet felting. The fur of cats is relatively short and smooth, so for a beginner the whole process of making products from it will not be easy.

In order, as they say, to get better at it, it is, of course, better to first practice on dog hair. However, even without such experience, processing cat hair and making products from it is quite possible. The only thing you need to stock up on is patience.

And they knit anything from cats’ wool:

• medical belts;
• socks;
• mittens;
• hats;
• vests;
• sweaters.

How to prepare material for spinning

How to spin dog hair at home? A difficult question for those who decided to do this for the first time.

The very first thing to do is to sort through and free the available material from debris and tangles. If there is still dirt left that cannot be removed, then it is better to wash it. To do this you need:

• Place the wool in a mesh bag designed for washing woolen items.
• Place in a container with powder; you can use liquid detergent.
• Pour warm water for thirty minutes.
• Remove wool from container.
• Rinse with plenty of water.
• Hang bags to drain water without squeezing.
• Lay the material out to dry for at least two days.

After this treatment, the wool is combed well. Does not smell of dirt. She is good at teasing with combs and carders.

How to use

In order for wool to have an effective effect on the body, it is necessary to follow some rules regarding the use of things made from this material:

1. You need to select the product by size. If there are usually no problems with knee pads or sleeves, then belts or socks require clarification of the parameters. You can measure yourself in advance if you order clothes online, or try on the product on the spot, in a pharmacy or specialty store.
2. Things need to be washed regularly - this should only be done by hand, with laundry soap. Powders or gels cannot be used, since their chemical composition negatively affects the properties of wool. Also, don't wring things out. But if necessary, they can be ironed - this must be done through a damp cloth so that the wool does not burn.
3. Products made from dog hair are recommended to be worn naked, but if they are too itchy, you can wear them over clothes.

There are some contraindications that are worth remembering. If an allergic reaction is noticed during wearing, treatment should be stopped. Sometimes a reaction occurs during pregnancy, with hormonal changes - in this case you should also avoid using woolen items. They should not be worn on a naked body if the skin is damaged, inflamed or has a rash. It is also not recommended to apply dog ​​hair to the heart area.

It is important to understand that wearing things is not a remedy that can completely eliminate chronic serious illnesses. If you have noticeable health problems, first of all, you need to visit a doctor so that he can prescribe drug therapy

In this case, things made of wool will only be an auxiliary method: products can reduce pain, warm up the body, relieve tension, and protect against exacerbations. They help speed up the process of treatment and recovery.

How to comb wool

For easy and high-quality spinning, the dog’s undercoat must be combed out on time and well. Thorough brushing should be done no more than twice a week. The accumulated wool must be pulled manually before spinning, or hand combs are used for this.

In small portions, the wool is placed on one comb and combed with the other comb in counter movements until an air lump is formed. It is necessary to repeat this several times, ensuring that the wool becomes uniform. Then remove the soft fluffy lump from your hair. The resulting lumps are collected into one large tow. Tows are made in different sizes, depending on your convenience.

The combing process will go faster if you use a drum carder.

Looking at the resulting air tow, it becomes clear how to spin dog hair.

Simple process of obtaining yarn

Before you start spinning, the raw materials must be prepared. The wool of animals (sheep, goats, dogs) must be carefully combed in one direction until the wool becomes light and airy. For this, there are special “combs” - a board with nails filled, similar to a massage comb. Raw materials prepared in this way can be rolled up and stored in a bag.

Before starting work, place the spinning wheel on a flat surface (table), connect it to the network and check the operation of the drive. Place them comfortably on a chair; the spinning wheel should be at waist level. A prepared tow is placed under the left hand, the fiber lobe is placed on a thread pulled from the thread duct. With the right hand, pull the thread from the tow, twist it and direct it to the reel. Rotating, the reel pulls the thread and winds it onto the spool.

In order for the yarn to be smooth and without knots, the spinning wheel should operate at low speeds. The thickness of the thread is adjusted manually. As the threads accumulate on the reel, they are transferred to the reel and work continues. When the bobbin is completely filled (about 200 g), the threads are wound from it into a ball.

When operating an electric spinning wheel, you must follow safety precautions to avoid injury or electric shock. To prevent the device from overheating, it is recommended to turn it off every hour. When twisting the threads, do not forget to switch the rotation of the spool in the opposite direction.

What spinning methods are used at home?

Depending on the tool used for spinning, you will need to attach a tow.

There are several methods for spinning dog hair:

• Hand spinning without the use of tools.
• Manually using a spindle and a wooden spinning wheel.
• Using a mechanical spinning wheel with a pedal.
• Using an electric spinning wheel.

How to spin dog hair using at least one of these methods?

It's best to start with hand spinning. This method will help you clearly see how the thread is twisted, how many turns you need to make to get even yarn of a certain thickness and strength.

Making a belt

The most difficult stage is completed, now all that remains is to give the desired shape, sew the wool to the fabric and

attach special holding devices.

At this stage, you can be guided by your own wishes and preferences. We will only tell you the general plan for constructing a pattern and sewing.

What you need for work

The first step is to decide on the choice of material on which everything will be attached, and the necessary tools.

• Felted wool, prepared earlier.
• Knitted fabric or any material you like.
• Wide elastic band for the belt and two elastic bands for fastening.
• Velcro, fastener or button for fastening.
• Threads, needles, scissors.
• Tape measure.

In addition, you will need to take measurements and prepare a pattern. Comfort to wear largely depends on this.

Pattern

To sew a quality item, you need to prepare the pattern correctly. To do this, it is enough to know your waist circumference. Based on this size, draw a blank on graph paper.

The widest part is in the lumbar region. It resembles a large circle or oval, gradually tapering at the edges. Two elastic bands should be sewn on the side over the fabric. The optimal width would be 5–7 cm; the length must be adjusted depending on the individual size of the person.

What types of spinning can be used at home?

Once the dog's hair has been combed and the roving is ready for spinning, you can begin to create yarn.

According to the technique of execution, yarn can be divided into three types:

• Thread based.
• Single.
• Twisted.

Warp spinning is used when making yarn from short fibers. For this you can use cotton or silk thread. During spinning, the fluff curls around the warp, and not vice versa. Care must be taken to ensure that the opposite does not happen. If the yarn is too twisted, you can try to fix it. Rewind the resulting thread several times into balls, back and forth.

You can rewind on a spinning wheel in the opposite direction. It is recognized that spinning with a warp is much easier than without using an additional thread.

Spinning dog hair without warp is used when making yarn from hair from long-haired dog breeds. A single thread is made by pulling the fiber from the tow and twisting it. Such a thread need not be twisted.

To twist means to twist two strands into one.

You can mix strands obtained from different dogs, as long as they match in thickness and preferably in softness.

Knitted yarn differs in volume and looks smoother in a knitted fabric.

Adaptations

As before, only a spindle and a spindle (weight for a spinning wheel) are used for this task. At the same time, the whorl can be simplified. To make the process more convenient, it is worth making a special pendant for tow (combed fluff). This can be a simple board tied to a chair so that the tow attached to it is at face level.

In the early stages of training, it is unlikely that you will be able to immediately control both the uniform pulling of fluff from the tow and the unwinding of the yarn. It is better to prepare a shallow enamel cup in which you can place the spinning wheel for rotation.

A simple way to spin without a spinning wheel

If you don’t have a spinning wheel at home, but you have dog hair, and you really want to spin it, then the question certainly arises of how to spin dog hair without a spinning wheel. There is a way out, you need to take the tow and attach it to something.

For example, tie a skein of wool to a stick or to the back of a chair and try spinning. To do this, you need to slowly pull out a thin thread of equal thickness from the tow and constantly twist it, otherwise it may break. Once you have obtained the yarn of the required length, thickness and twist, you need to wind it onto a spindle. Then continue in the same order. When the ball has become approximately the size of a fist, the thread should be cut off.

You don't have to tie the tow to the chair.

Before spinning dog hair with a spindle, you need to take a ball of fluff in your left hand. With your right hand, pull the thread out of the ball while twisting it. In this case, the spindle should be on a plate or some kind of bowl with a flat bottom without a recess. The twisting of the strand occurs quickly. If the thread was spun thin, and suddenly a thickening appears, then it needs to be untwisted and straightened.

Next, spin about fifty centimeters and wind the resulting yarn onto a spindle. Tie the thread with a fixing knot at the top of the spindle. In this way, continue to pull and twist the thread until the spinning tow runs out.

When you don’t know how to learn how to spin dog hair with a spindle, you can try using a flat wooden stick or pencil. All other actions are the same. Pull the thread from the tow, twist it and wind it around the middle of a pencil or stick.

Wet felting

First, we take a piece of film with a margin of approximately 15 cm on each side of the expected belt size. This is necessary so that you can tuck the edges of the dog hair “layer cake” (this will create a smoother rectangular shape, and you will not need to cut off precious pieces of the felt mat).

Now we take the dog’s hair itself and begin to “ruffle” it. We will do this with our hands, but carefully. How to do it? Rinse and gut a small ball of dog hair until fine and fluffy.

With such scraps we lay out the entire first layer of the workpiece in one direction. We put our disheveled scraps so that they overlap one another. This way we avoid bald spots and voids in the rug.

The next step is to apply a second layer, but in the opposite direction. We do not allow omissions and do not forget about overlaps. So we lay at least 4 layers. If it is possible and there is a lot of raw material available, more layers are possible.

The felt will be denser and stronger. The result was a fluffy “layer cake” of scraps of dog hair stacked one on top of the other.

Now we need to thoroughly moisten all this with hot soapy water. Why hot? Hot water straightens the hairs, and the soap solution helps them adhere to each other into a dense mass.

Attention

This is the most crucial moment. Wetting from a spray bottle is not quick, but it is reliable. Pieces of wool will not move anywhere, voids or lumps will not form. But you need to take into account that dog hair doesn’t get wet well, so you can water it by hand, trying not to knock a single piece out of its place.

When everything is properly wet and the workpiece has become twice as thin as our fluffy original rug, you can pour a bolder soap solution. But not in a stream or stream. Its density and durability will depend on how well our entire future belt made of dog hair gets wet.

In our case, the mesh allowed soapy water to spill through the top. On the one hand, this is good and convenient, on the other hand, bubble wrap, although it prevents the wool from getting wet, makes it possible to felt the wool very tightly

You have to remove the top film and very carefully wet the unprotected mat

Tuck the edges of the bottom film inward (we had a rather stiff mesh, so there were problems with tucking). Now you can cover the wet and settled mat with a second film or mesh

Carefully but very tightly roll the resulting film pancake onto a rolling pin (it is most convenient for our purpose)

To prevent this whole structure from unwinding and falling apart during the process of felting wool, we will secure our “sausage” with a rope in a spiral or with hair elastic bands along the entire length. We will hit and roll this whole thing, so we need reliable fixation.

Since we are making a dog hair belt with our own hands, we cannot allow valuable raw materials to go to waste. We tie it tightly, without tightening it, so that the whole structure can be pounded without fear and, at the same time, without tearing the wet felt. We want to end up with a belt that is tight, durable and free of torn holes.

Well, now it’s time for the mechanical part of the work. We take a rolling pin with a workpiece wound around it and begin to squeeze it with our hands, roll it and tap it on all sides on the table or, as in our case, on a bed of wooden balls. If it’s not there, it doesn’t matter - on a flat surface, preferably wooden, it turns out no worse. So we roll and knock for 15-20 minutes.

Attention

We tap on all sides more than we roll. This way there is less risk of deforming the workpiece.

Then we carefully unwind and see what we got. If bald spots appear or something has moved, we fix it. Place scraps of wool on the voids and moisten them generously with more soapy water.

We wrap the bottom film together with the edges of the wet workpiece to make a product of the correct shape, again lay the film on top and roll everything back onto the rolling pin. We knead, tap and roll for another 20 minutes, or even half an hour.

The density of the felt, and, consequently, the quality of the future dog hair belt, which we are now making with our own hands, will depend on how long and how diligently you subject the workpiece to mechanical stress.

Now you can rinse the “sausage” under running water. We do this without unwinding or unfolding the workpiece.

Next, you need to untie everything, lay out the resulting felt mat on a flat surface, remove the top film and wash it again with soapy water.

If you did everything as it should, the resulting thick felt mat can even be carefully rinsed

Spinning on a spinning wheel

The best known version is my grandmother's version of spinning dog hair by hand at home. The spinning wheel is placed on a stable surface, such as a stool or bench.

A hand spinning wheel consists of a vertical part, on which the tow is attached, and a horizontal part (bottom), where the spinner sits.

After you have fixed the fluff on the spinning wheel, you need to pick up the spindle. It is best to attach the fluff to the spinning wheel with an elastic band. Tie a cotton thread to the middle part of the spindle and wind it clockwise. The tow should be on the left side of the hand. They begin to pull the fibers out of the tow with three fingers of the left hand. Connect the cotton thread to the strand and at the same time rotate the spindle clockwise. Thus, the thread and strand were spliced. Secure the twisted strand at the top of the spindle with a locking knot so that the thread does not fall off when rotating. Continue to rotate with your right hand, slowly releasing a small amount of fluff from the tow with your left hand for twisting. At the end of spinning, rewind the thread from the spindle into a ball.

For knitting, double-ply yarn is used. To do this, you need to connect two threads and twist them.

Spinning dog hair by hand is quite difficult and time-consuming. In order to obtain high-quality thread, you need to have spinning experience. Therefore, to help the spinner, a spinning wheel with a wheel was invented, which has survived to this day.

What you will need - available materials

The easiest way is to spin by hand using a spinning wheel and spindle. To work, you need to prepare some tools and materials.

spinning wheel

A hand spinning wheel is a wooden device for making thread. There are two types of tools:

• a composite product that has vertical and horizontal parts;
• a single spinning wheel was made from the trunk or root of a tree.

Today, young professionals and even connoisseurs of antiquity give their preference to a mechanical spinning wheel.
Cost – 3500 rub. Regardless of the type of hand spinning wheel, in the end it has an unchanged design. The horizontal lower segment is used for spinning. This place is called “the bottom”. The vertical part of the working tool includes 2 elements: shovels or paddles, necks or legs. The craftswomen had to work on this type of spinning wheel for quite a long time to obtain the required amount of thread.

Spindle

A spindle is a product made from a cut tree. Usually the instrument is made of birch. However, you can use other wood, which is cheaper. The spindle manufacturing process consists of several stages:

• the cut tree needs to be sawed crosswise, after which bars of different sizes must be cut along the trunk, taking into account the size of the spindle that needs to be created;
• the bars must be dried in an oven for 24 hours;
• the edges of the product are rounded after drying, using a sharp knife for this purpose;
• using a machine, they give the product its final appearance.

Machines are also made independently from wood. The production of such products is considered the cheapest, for this reason the spindle has become an affordable working material for most peasant families.

Wool

Tow (the second name for wool) must first be prepared for the spinning process. The material is sorted out, debris is removed and combing begins. For this purpose, special combs are used. The procedure looks like this: put a little wool on one comb and comb it with the other. The manipulation must be carried out until the tow ends up on the same comb.

The readiness of the wool is determined by individual hairs, which should be easily pulled out.

How to choose

When you plan to get yarn, you need to properly collect and then sort the wool. Fold the softest one separately, separate the coarser one. It should be stored in boxes or paper bags or fabric bags. In a plastic container, wool stops breathing, which is why it quickly cakes. It is allowed to store the product in any room, as long as it is not exposed to sunlight.

It is better to spin combed wool. It cannot be saved for years. Be sure to put anti-moth products in the container. It is recommended to sort the material by color so that the yarn is uniform. To ensure an even color before spinning, all yarn must be combed several times or sorted to obtain a smooth tone transition - from the lightest to the darkest shade of color.

The presence and amount of awn in the undercoat affects the softness of the final yarn.

The awning must only be selected manually. Neither drums nor carder brushes will remove it completely - this is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming process. To get fluffy and soft yarn from merino wool, and even a thin one, you will have to scrupulously select all the spine from the fluff. Because of this, we recommend immediately organizing the process of sorting and removing the spine.

Short wool can also be spun, although the likelihood of fluff falling off over time remains high. It is better to add a few long fibers to it when combing it or spin it using half-wool or thin wool thread as a base.

Immediately before spinning, it is necessary to wash the harvested wool. It takes more than a day to dry - this must be taken into account. When the material is completely dry, you need to comb it again several times and select the spine. These particles are heavier than fluff, so the weight of the finished product depends on the quality of the bulkhead.

Washing together with the selection of the awns reduces the total weight by a third.

Combs

The comb spinning technique is suitable if the fibers are long enough. This yarn is the smoothest, thinnest, and very dense. As a result, the yarn becomes durable.

Wooden self-spinning wheel helps you spin quickly

A mechanical self-spinning wheel with a foot drive has become a home assistant for women. The spinner no longer turns the spindle, it simply does not exist. Pressing the pedal with your foot sets the spinning wheel in motion.

The tow is attached to a stick or spinning wheel. The cotton thread is attached to the spool of a spinning wheel and passed through the hooks of the bobbin. It must be combined with a strand of tow. Using your left hand, pull out a small strip of wool from the tow and place it on a cotton thread. At the same time, they begin to rotate the spinning wheel by pressing the pedal with their foot. The process of twisting the thread and winding it onto the spool begins. At this moment you need to look to see if the thread is too twisted.

If this happens, you need to manually pull the thread and unwind it in the opposite direction. The speed of the spinning wheel is controlled by a pedal. The more often you press the pedal, the higher the speed of rotation of the wheel.

The thread tension is regulated by belts that are stretched over the wheel housings and the pulley. The spinning process is fast. Spinning dog hair, like any other hair, on a mechanical spinning wheel is not very easy; it requires certain skills.

Electric spinning wheel to help needlewomen

A household electric spinning wheel is a simple technique and easy to learn how to use. Working on it does not require significant physical effort. Each electric spinning wheel has a speed switch, so beginner spinners can learn to spin at low speed.

Russian manufacturers offer several models of electric spinning wheels. The principle of their operation is similar, but there are slight design differences. The household electric spinning wheel is a compact machine, the basis of which is the twisting and winding mechanism. It consists of a body and a reel on which the thread is wound and an electric motor with a tension device. There are handles for turning on the engine and changing gears.

The spinning wheel is easy to use, does not require special training, and you can master the basics of spinning in a short time. It comes with an instruction manual. Before work, you need to study it well and follow all the recommendations, and then the device will last for many years.

Electric spinning wheels spin well and quickly

The invention of the electric spinning wheel has several advantages. This is compactness and speed. Experts say that working on it requires virtually no skills. The principle of forming a thread from wool is the same for spinning wheels - the strand is pulled out of the tow, twisted and wound into a ball.

Then the finished yarn must be twisted. If the spinning wheel does not have such a function, then you can twist it manually on a spindle.

The photo shows what this device looks like. We spin dog hair on an electric spinning wheel in the same way as in other cases - separating small pieces of combed wool and twisting them.

On an electric spinning wheel

Electric spinning wheels simplify and speed up the spinning process the most. With them

In use, it is possible to set different speed and quality modes for thread twisting.

Working on such devices allows you not to be distracted by winding, since it is performed automatically. As a result of this, the spinner has the ability to wind the thread onto the warp with both hands at once.

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How to wash finished yarn

Tie the rewound yarn in several places and put it in the wash:

• Place the skein in a container with warm water and liquid detergent.
• You need to wash it carefully.
• Rinse in water with hair balm.
• The last thorough rinse is done in a large amount of water with the addition of a few drops of essential oil.

There is no need to wring out the wool. Hang the skein on clean gauze or on a clothesline. As the coat dries, it takes on a wavy appearance. In order for the yarn to straighten well, it must be pulled back with a weight. Gradually, weight can be added to make the thread smoother.

To ensure you have enough hair, collect it every time you brush your dog. You can knit warm clothes for loved ones with your own hands, since this wool is also medicinal. The pleasure from the work and the resulting handmade products will last a long time. The best thing is to leave the pet's fluff and learn the material, how to spin yarn from dog hair.

Manufacturing options

• Knitting needles or hook To spin wool, it is not necessary to first learn special techniques.
  Prepare a spool of thick thread - this is the base. Threads can be either cotton or polyamide. Pull clumps of wool of the same size from the total mass, press the palm of your hand onto the thread, twist slightly and knit immediately, without winding the yarn into a ball. This method is knitted in the south of Russia and in Asian countries, using the wool of any animal. Depending on the selected yarn thickness, your product will turn out thicker or thinner. A belt or socks can be bulkier than a sweater or mittens. Experience is gained easily and immediately. If you are not new to knitting, the belt can be knitted wider on the back side. If you want to keep the knitted texture, hand wash in warm water and rinse in warm water, or use a cold wash cycle for wool. If you want to make an imitation of a felted product, wash it in hot water and rinse in cold water. In this case, keep in mind that the knitted item will shrink. For your information, a crocheted product practically does not shrink due to its compacted texture.
• Wet felting.
  Prepare a belt pattern by doubling the actual size. Place wool fluff on the bubble wrap, fiber lengthwise and crosswise, in even, thin layers. The finished product is shorter and narrower than the volume you put out. Cover the mass with a mosquito net and moisten with soapy water with your hands or a sponge from the center, pressing lightly. When you rub the surface, do not apply much force, otherwise the mesh will penetrate into the body of the workpiece. Once the felt becomes a canvas, subsequent operations can be performed in different ways. This is friction or rolling. There are many felt felting technologies. Finding them on the Internet is quite easy. You can choose the method that you like best. The finished belt is steamed and at the same time given the desired shape by hand. Steaming also causes shrinkage.
• Dry felting. Lay the wool on bubble wrap or a piece of fabric replacing the wrap, overlapping. Cover with another piece of film, place under the mat and trample the creation with your feet while you sit in front of the monitor or TV screen. The resulting layer must be cut to size and sewn onto a fabric base. Finish the edges with tape.

Many of us have dogs that we brush from time to time. Those who do not throw away combed dog hair are doing more than wisely. You can use it to make a dog hair belt with your own hands.

It's not difficult at all and quite fast. Felting one product takes about an hour with all the preparatory steps. After drying, all that remains is to sew the fabric and attach the fasteners.

True, it should be noted that only hair that has been combed from a dog can be felted well; hair that has been cut cannot be felted, no matter how hard you try. Our task is to obtain a very dense felt blank, to which you can sew ribbons or attach fasteners for ease of use.

We will now tell you how to felt a dog hair belt with your own hands with a photo and description of the felting process based on personal experience.

Animals with thick fur

The collection of wool from animals is carried out without slaughter. For this, various combs, slickers, hair clippers and other tools are used. The humane method of obtaining fur is promoted by many international animal welfare associations. Thus, owners can annually collect wool from the same rabbit or sheep for further processing.

Various animals are bred on an industrial scale to obtain wool.

Sheep and goat wool is highly valued by needlewomen

Fleece, or the wool of sheep, has long been used to produce various types of fabrics and yarn. The Ancient Greek epic tells how Jason went to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. The kilt, the national clothing of the Scottish Highlanders, is also made from sheep's wool. Depending on the quality of the fleece, its further disposal is determined. Suits are made from thick cloth, and autumn and winter coats are made from drape. Fine yarn is used to make elegant knitted items. Blankets are sewn from low-grade wool and felt boots are felted.

Sheep are sheared 2-3 times a year.

Sheep in the fields of Kazakhstan

Angora and Kashmir goats are raised for wool collection. The former have long and silky hair. It is divided into two subspecies: coarse wool and semi-coarse wool (moger or mohair). Sweaters are knitted from angora, fabrics and carpets are made. Angora goats are sheared twice a year.

On average, male bucks produce 2 times more mohair than females.

The Kashmiri breed is known for its thick, downy undercoat. The raw materials are used for carpets, shawls and other high-value products. The Cashgor breed is considered a subspecies of the Kashmiri breed. The main representatives in Russia are the Don and Gorno-Altai goats. The Kashgorians have coarse down, but very warm. Moreover, the Cashgorian breed, unlike the Kashmiri one, does not degenerate due to climatic conditions. Cashgorians and Kashmiris get their hair cut once a year.

Read about the characteristics of Angora goats, how to keep, feed and breed them in the article: Angora goat

Goats raised in Altai

Rabbit

The warm down of a rabbit is superior in properties to goat and sheep wool. It does not require special processing (washing, drying) and is ready for use immediately, which significantly reduces production time and the cost of the finished product. The downside is increased absorption of moisture from the air. The fluff of a specially bred Angora breed is used to make yarn. The fur of other rabbits is too short for this.

The Angora rabbit is a breed that, in addition to its beautiful appearance, can boast of excellent wool quality. How to choose an Angora rabbit? How to properly keep a pet? You can read about all this in our article .

Angora Lion rabbit

Prices for brushes for small animals (kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs)

Useful properties of wool