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Gloria Brand of Northville uses the hair from her dog Ivana, a Bouvier de Flandre, to make yarn, which is then mixed with Romney sheep wool to make her knitting items.Photo by Ricardo Thomas

by Jocelynn Brown

'Knitting with Dog Hair, Better a Sweater from a Dog You Know and Love Than From a Sheep You'll Never Meet," reads the title of a book by Kendall Crolius and Anne Montgomery published in the early '90s.

Although Gloria Brand of Northville has never read the helpful how-tobook, she's been spinning the hair of her three beloved furry friends, two Bouviers and a Pyrenees, for 10 years and using it to knit mittens, baby booties and fancy edges on sweaters.

"That was the first fiber I started with," remarks Brand, who was inspired to learn how to spin because of an aging dog. "I wanted something to remember her by." After meeting a woman with a portable spinning wheel at a dog obedience class, Brand accepted her offer to visit her studio for spinning lessons.

She quickly tested her skills by spinning her Bouviers' hair with Shetland wool, producing a 50/50 blend. "It came out like a worsted weight type of wool. I used it to knit a pair of mittens for myself," Brand states......

Read more at -  http://detnews.com/article/20091120/OPINION03/911200309/Once-rough-dog-hair-spins-into-nice-clothing