I have been spinning fibers into wool for over 30 years. In this post I will be spinning my husky’s underwool into a soft, fuzzy yearn. I’m not sure yet what I will make from the wool, perhaps a scarf of hat. It depends upon how much yarn it makes. I have been collecting her underwool when she sheds every year.

About My Husky

The picture above is Kita at about 3 years old at Christmas time. She loves her chew bone and her Snakey. We got Kita from the Huntsville Animal Shelter when she was nearly 2 years old. She showed signs of previous abuse. She had adult teeth that were deformed and needed some surgery to remove a back tooth. The veterinarian said that from her head x-rays, she showed signs of violent abuse that caused damage to her adult teeth before they emerged. In spite of all that, she is a sweet and kind dog, though she plays way too rough to be around smaller dogs. She loves attention from people however and is very friendly to dogs on the other side of a fence.

Collecting the Underwool

Kita looks to be a Siberian Husky with the longer hair and star pattern on her face. She is a primitive dog which shows a high prey drive and she sheds twice a year. Her spring shed is the big shed and that is when I collect her underwool. The photos below show several views of husky underwool, spinning the wool and a skein of the completed yarn. I will be spinning my husky’s underwool.

Spinning the Underwool

I prepared Kita’s underwool by taking a handful at a time and hand carding it. Hand carding it usually means manually pulling the wool apart by hand and/or over a dog comb or a hand carder. I prefer to do this by hand as her underwool is very fine and delicate. The length of her underwool varies between 1 and 2 inches, similar to angora.

Once the fur is carded, then I take the handful and spin it using a very short draw as the fur is short and quite slippery. I overspin the single because I am making a balanced 2 ply yarn that I don’t want to fall apart. I’m using my old Ashford Traveler double drive spinning wheel. This wheel spins a fine, even yarn. The last photo on the right shows the completed skein of 2 ply yarn, ready to use.

It’s not a strange thing to do, spinning dog fur, husky yarn has been used throughout cold areas, where huskies have been used for pulling sleds.