Warm and Fuzzy Chiengora Hat

While Chiengora is a modern term, dog hair has been utilized by the Scandinavians and the Native American for hundreds, possibly a thousand years. The key to a great Chiengora yarn, is a fuzzy & warm double coated dog such as Malamutes, Husky, Chow Chows, and Elkhounds. In fact the Salish Wool Dog, now extinct, was selectively bred for their wool by the prehistoric Natives in the areas we now call Washington State and British Columbia.

To collect dog hair all you need to do is find a double coated dog blowing (releasing) their undercoat. Longer coated dogs will benefit from a dog brush made for removing their heavy undercoat. Some short coated breeds do not release all of their undercoat at the same time, and the clumps can easily be removed by hand.

One of the joys of spinning dog hair is it not does need much prep, and can be spun from the cloud, loose fibers. I placed a large handful of dog hair in my lap, removed any clumps, and fluffed the fibers by hand. I spun this single on my Kromski Minstrel spinning wheel.

Place the finished bobbin on a Lazy Kate.

Use a Lazy Kate and a Ball Winder to make a center pull ball of yarn.

Hold the two ends of the yarn together, attach to your leader, and treddle. I chose a very low twist due to the long 4-5" staple length, and I wanted a chunky textured yarn.

Wind the finished yarn onto a niddy noddy, and tie strings in 3-4 places around the skein.

Dog hair is very dirty, and is coated in body oils. The easiest way to clean the finished yarn is to scour the wool. Heat water to 150-160*F. Add about 1 tsp of Power Scour to your water, and insert the yarn. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Pour off water and yarn. I prefer to place the basket of my salad spinner in my sink, and pour the yarn directly into the basket. The excess water can be removed by hand, or by using the salad spinner.

Run another container of hot water, place the yarn into the water. Let the yarn sit in the water for about 30 minutes. Utilizing a spinner to remove excess water reduces the total amount of water needed.

Repeat until the water runs clear.

Lay the yarn out in a warm place to dry.

Wind the dry yarn into a center pull ball.

Knit a test swatch. Try different size needles, and decide which create the look you want to create.I

Cast on, and knit 1.5-2 inches in a 1x1 (knit one, purl one) rib.

Knit with heavy tension, or with one size smaller needles.

Bulky Weight Yarn - 2.5 stitches per inch

Cast on 48 stitches

Knit 1x1 rib (k1, p1, around)

knit for 1.5-2 inches from cast on edge

Knit around in stockinette stitch (knit) until 7" from cast on edge.

Start decrease pattern

1: SSK, knit 7 stitches, k2tog, k1, repeat around, (40 stitches)

2: Knit around (40 stitches)

3: SSK, knit 5 stitches, k2tog, k1, repeat around (32 stitches)

4: SSK, knit 3 stitches, k2tog, k1, repeat around (24 stitches)

5: SSK, knit 1 stitches, k2tog, k1, repeat around (16 stitches

6: K2tog around (8 stitches)

Cut yarn leaving a 12" tail.

Use a yarn needle to run yarn through the remaining 8 stitches.

Pull tight.

Sew in yarn end at top and brim.

One of the amazing characteristics of Chiengora is the beautiful halo, similar to angora. Put on your Warm & Fuzzy hat on a cold winter day and enjoy!