Knitting with Dog Hair

Every dog owner knows the feeling. You’ve just vacuumed. The couch is clean. You sit down. You stand up. You are now wearing a second dog.

Kendall Crolius looked at this situation and thought: what if, instead of crying, I made a sweater?

The result is a surprisingly thorough guide to harvesting, cleaning, carding, and spinning dog fur into yarn — and then knitting that yarn into garments you can technically wear in public. The book covers everything from which breeds produce the best fiber (Samoyed and Chow Chow, since you’re asking) to how to explain your jacket at dinner parties.

The authors are completely sincere. They love dogs. They love knitting. They saw an intersection and they went for it with the energy of people who have absolutely nothing to prove.

Reader reviews are split between “this changed my life” and “I made a hat and it smelled like wet dog for three winters.” Both are equally valid outcomes.