Most people wouldn't think of making a baby hat out of dog hair. Sounds awful - right? Wrong. Certain dog breeds yield some of the softest, nicest fiber you can find anywhere. It looks like angora, which is Very Expensive, but is free for a minimal amount of effort. Combing the clean hair during shedding - or anytime for that matter - and saving the combings is all that's needed. Best breeds are samoyed, malamute, husky, akita, and probably more that I don't know about. Poodle hair is really nice, too, but doesn't have the fuzzy halo characteristic of the other breeds. Also poodle hair clippings can be used as long as they measure at least one and a half inches, while only combings will work for the others. The poodle hair fiber comes out looking a bit like mohair.
So here is my latest hat made from husky hair. It's incredibly soft, not to mention hecka cute!
The gray and white are the natural color of the fiber, and the pink is Corriedale wool spun and dyed by me. The husky hair was more difficult to spin than some I've had in the past, but seems to have been worth the effort. It's for a newborn, but I made it a bit larger since babies grow very fast. This hat should fit very nicely by three months and last to about one year or longer.
