Photo: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS
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Jane Crewe, 57, is devoted to her Samoyed dogs — a Siberian breed known for its thick white fur.
The innovative crafter collects the hair her canines Artemis and Phaidra, both 7, shed and uses a spinning wheel to turn the snow-colored fluff into yarn. Crewe then knits her handmade dog fur yarn into soft hats and scarves.
To make sure she has enough material, Crewe sometimes uses Facebook to connect with other Samoyed owners to get more fluff — spinning some of the fur into yarn for the owner. As word of Crewe’s unique skill begins to spread, more Samoyed owners are sending the artisan fur to make into yarn. So far, Crewe has sent custom yarn to 100 Samoyed owners.
Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS
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“I like the spinning, but knitting takes a lot longer. I’m usually quite happy to pass it back to the owner,” Crewe told SWNS of the yarn she’s made for others.
According to Crewe, the undercoat fluff she collects from Samoyeds is known as “the halo” and is made up of luminous white fur tinged with silver.
“It’s a little bit of magic,” Crewe, who works in the gift shop at Edinburgh Zoo, said of the material, adding, “It is quite like angora.”
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Not all canines can have their shed fur turned into blankets and jumpers.
“You wouldn’t be able to spin Labrador or spaniel hair as there’s no undercoat,” Crewe explained.
Samoyed hair, on the other hand, has plenty of uses.
“You could crochet with it, or do house insulation with it, or make a duvet from it,” Crewe said.
source: people.com