After pulling my dogs shedding undercoat off him for the past few weeks or so, along with vacuuming daily and getting full buckets of hair off the carpet I got to thinking...Has anyone tried using dog fur, perhaps just the undercoat, as a substitute to down? Maybe like a poor mans down if you will? I figure you could harvest it yourself if you have a dog via a vacuum and comb, and just use it as stuffing for any DIY bags, quilts, vests, etc.
I know I saw a news clip where someone made a sweater out of dog fur so I know it's possible. I'm just wondering where it ranks on the warmth, loft, compressibility, usability, etc scale.
Please read the archives...Please <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> If one more person brings this up I'm gonna go 'n tar n feather them! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
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PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!
Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
preprunner-
I have no idea how dog fur would serve as a down relpacement. I HAVE heard of people spinning their pet's fur along with some wool and using that product to knit sweaters and such. I got the impression that they were more interested in harvesting an otherwise wasted resoure or keeping a momento of their pets for sentimentality. If you try this, let us know how it works for you.
I've got a friend who spins yarns of all sorts of critters and poodle fur turns out to be like kevlar. Really strong and as Penny says, stinks like a......wet dog.
Please read the archives...Please <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> If one more person brings this up I'm gonna go 'n tar n feather them! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Now there's an idea! Has anyone tried tar and feathers as an insulator or top coat? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
My point exactly! Why reinvent the wheel <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Even cavemen did'nt wear dog fur! Ok, maybe some did, but they had to sleep outside when it rained <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
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PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!
Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
Quote:
Quote:
Please read the archives...Please <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> If one more person brings this up I'm gonna go 'n tar n feather them! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Now there's an idea! Has anyone tried tar and feathers as an insulator or top coat? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Not quite, but have you ever seen oilskin or japara? When I was in NZ back in the 80's, a lot of local raingear was cotton infused with some kind of oil or wax-heavy, but waterproof. When it wore off, you could just treat the fabric again and it would be good as new.
I have an Australian stockman's coat, like in the Aussie westerns. It is a treated cotton or light canvas of some type., the coating is some kind of wax, maybe parafin. The brand is Driza Bone, a well-known Aussie company.
There are still a lot of jackets and other clothing made from these fabrics; Yahoo turns up a bunch of sites for sellers and manufacturers. Nothing particularly lightweight, but my stockman's coat is incredibly tough and fun to wear on occasion.
Here is an interesting story about the history of oilskins on an online store's site that I found. oilskin history
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Don't get me started, you know how I get.
I have been studying since 1987, the wool dog or woolly dog, grown for at least 700 years, possibly 2500 years, by the First Nations or Native American peoples in the areas now western British Columbia and western Washington. I just presented at a conference at the Sto:lo nation in B.C. what I knew about the dog grown by their ancestors, including information I gathered from spinners on this forum.
Also, I am interested in hearing from anyone who has spun American Eskimo dog hair, or owners or breeders of Eskies about that dog's hair, especially if they have a dog with the recessive genes that caus the soft insulating hair to be longer than the guard hairs.
I guess my question would be "why"....would anyone want to use problematic fibers. We know that sheep, goat, alpaca, llama, rabbit, camel, and a few other critters are proven and have been used for thousands of years. I'm a sheep wool addict, myself. My spinner friend will spin a yarn from odd wools, just to try it, but usually only once. He then goes back to the proven fibers.
If you washed the dog fur would it remove the oils and render it less effective than it was - say on the dog? Just leave the fur on and put the dog in your sleeping bag. That would be warm.
JAK I have a good library of the peoples of the arctic basin. Dog skin and fur was an important commodity. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />Dog makes the best mukluk liners. just think about wolf and coyote ruffs on parkas - those are some warm frost free furs. Also as you know - those people had very limited resources - seal - polar bear - dog - ground squirrels - fish, and the occasional caribou and rarer wolverine, acrtic fox and of course the chest hair of beached whales... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I agree the warmest dog fur is still attached to the dog... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
Filson Outfitters makes (or sells, at least) waxed cotton outer wear.
Also, I have seen the mule-train wranglers in the Grand Canyon wearing these heavy canvas-like drovers coats.
English companies make waxed cotton gear for motorcyclists. had plenty when i rode, cuts the rain and wind to nothing! Still wear a waxed cotten hat for Fall til Spring <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Stylish eh? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!
Jim, I know they are not as wide ranging, but the Muskox has excellent wool yet you don't hear about the native's using them so much. I am sure they do, but their not as wide ranging maybe. Not sure. In the article I posted there were a few native groups that made wool from dogs. I wonder if any used wool from Muskox or if they just used the fur. I suppose the Muskox wheren't so easy to shear. Perhaps that was it.
p.s. It just occured to me that there might be reasons of efficiency why some people of certain regions adapted to herd and shear certain animals rather than simply hunt them and use their pelts, similar to the way they are sometimes used for milking or bleeding rather than just for meat. Herding isn't just a means of food storage, but creates other opportunities as well. Interesting.
I'm guessing that herding for food came first, and wool second, but who knows.
Filson Outfitters makes (or sells, at least) waxed cotton outer wear.
Also, I have seen the mule-train wranglers in the Grand Canyon wearing these heavy canvas-like drovers coats.
English companies make waxed cotton gear for motorcyclists. had plenty when i rode, cuts the rain and wind to nothing! Still wear a waxed cotten hat for Fall til Spring <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Stylish eh? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Yes indeed, back in the time before fairings and huge touring bikes. Excellent wind and wet clothing.
I can't for the life of me remember the brand or the name we called it. Dang age thing again.
It is called Qiviut, and it is just the undercoat of the musk ox... I don't believe it is harvested off the animal itself, but rather picked up off the ground. These animals shed in huge clumps, and their fur is very fine and extremely warm. Articles of clothing knitted from this yarn sell for megabucks here.
MNS
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YMMV. Viewer discretion is advised.
i am a spinner and weaver, but haven't played much with dog fur, since i think it feels gross and smells. however, i'm sure you *could* stuff some gear with it and it *would* insulate- all that's needed for insulation is to trap air. however, i doubt it would perform well. i think it would be prone to shifting and matting. then you loose the insulating properties of your garment/bag. one reason to blend dog fur with wool is to get the crimp of the wool (wavy structure) into your project. dog fur alone doesn't work well, since it usually doesn't have a good crimp to hold the fibers together, and will just pull apart. in old-times, quilts were "stuffed" with cotton or wool batting. these days it's all synthetic.
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