Barking Blondes: Hair of the Dog
Retailers are constantly in pursuit of THE gadget that will successfully remove dog hair from clothes and furniture. Cleaning up pet fur is big business for the hound pound and choices range from special suction attachments for the domestic vacuum to mittens coated in Velcro!
Living with a dog means letting go of some of those ‘house-proud’ values …..and to remember to never to wear black! We seem obsessed by the need to rid our lives of dog hair.
We’re lucky that our two Bull breeds are single coated, short haired and, consequently, don’t moult heavily compared to say a Labrador, Samoyed or St Bernard.
How interesting therefore to meet a canny lady on the Titchmarsh Show, who specializes in transforming dog hair into attractive garments including full- length cardigans, jumpers, hats, scarves and even tea cosies!
This is a great way to be eco-friendly and sustainable, simply by recycling your own dogs fur. Afterall, nothing beats a natural fibre for warmth and texture.
Inundated with requests to knit something special in memory of a dog, this lady’s own Pyrenean Mountain Dog was immortalized as a full-length, stunning cable knit cardigan. (any dog owner who has suffered the loss of their pet must surely love the idea of wearing wool that was so close to their souls)
Most breeds’ hair can be spun and made into a yarn for knitting. Thick coated breeds like Newfoundlands, or long silky coated pooches like the Maltese and Yorkies are particular favourites. We were also shown a wooly scarf from a Persian cat’s fluffy fur that looked and felt like angora.
One of the many interesting stories to emerge from last year’s anniversary of WW1 was to discover another role where dogs played a part. When obtaining wool became a problem at the start of the war, the British Dog Wool Association literally championed a new industry out of dog hair. Dog owners were ‘called-up’ to collect and donate their dogs’ hair, which was spun and transformed into garments like socks, hats and scarves for the injured soldiers on the front line.
Operating out of Burlington House, home to The Royal Academy in Piccadilly, the association publicized the cause with posters in Kensington appealing for dog hair. Man’s best friend helping on the home front whilst brave soldier dogs were messengers, guards, rescuers and companions on the front line.
Volunteers congregated to knit these ‘comforting garments’ for the wounded out of mountains of donated ‘moulted mutt’, which made the difference between life and death for many in WW1. The socks were issued to wounded soldiers recovering in hospitals and pillows stuffed with fur added further comfort.
We would love to wear an item made from our dog’s hair, but understand that someone with allergies might think twice. Indeed there was sneezing and coughing from some of the samples brought into our radio studio! Hair of the dog eh!
Barking Blondes by Jo Good & Anna Webb, published by Hamlyn, £12.99www.octopusbooks.co.uk
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