Category: custom dogs

custom dogs, dogs, felting with fur

Dog fur or hair? What’s the difference?

amandafelting

When I started working with dog fur/ hair to create needle felted dog replicas, I became curious about the difference between dog hair or fur. What to call this new material I was working with, were those two words interchangeable? Was there a difference?

OK, so now I now there is a difference and I shall attempt to explain that in this post.

So there is no chemical difference between hair and fur, they are both made from keratin. They can however differ in texture and growth cycles.

Hair

Examples of dogs with hair include Poodle, Bedlington Terrier, Schnauzer Bearded Collie and Bichon Frise.

Hair can be straight, wavy or curly and generally feels smoother and finer. It tends to be longer and thicker than fur. Hair grows in a single layer rather than in a double coat and goes through a longer growth cycle. Because of this longer growth cycle, dogs with hair shed less frequently, this leads to people with allergies choosing them over dogs with fur, though this doesn’t always solve the problem! Dogs with hair might need more grooming (as in doggie haircuts) so that their hair doesn’t get too long.

Fur

Dogs with fur include Golden Retriever, Labrador, Newfoundland, Pomeranian

Dogs with fur have shorter growth cycles so they shed more frequently, this is so that they can change the thickness of their coat depending on the season. The fur is finer and denser than hair and often grows in a double coat with a coarser overcoat over the finer undercoat. This helps them to regulate their body temperature. So dogs with fur seem to be more adaptable to changing climates and weather. Their fur is shed before it gets too long so less visits to the dog salon!

So I now know more than I did and I hope you do too! If you want to get in touch about your dog or to enquire about my work with dog fur, I would love to hear from you!

Please use the contact page to get in touch!

Amanda x

custom dogs, felting with fur, needle felting

Felting With Fur – part 2

amandafelting

Hello, I absolutely love felting with fur! It opens up so many possibilities, and provides such as special felted keepsake for the animal’s owners.

For this dog replica I was lucky to have such a lot of fur to felt with, and it was so soft and feltable! This fur was from a much loved Japanese Spitz and the crimp of the fur very closely resembled the sheep wool I felt with.

Because of the quantity and texture of the dog fur I was able to start by felting a whole body and head from it. It might not have created as firm a shape as I can achieve from felting with wool but this fur certainly provided a good core as a base.

I felted the ears and the face.

The features were the only part of the dog that had to be created with wool. Once the ears and the face were completed, I set about gently building up the fluff to give the dog the shape needed for this particular breed.

And here he is, the finished dog, a very special make.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or custom requests or visit my Etsy shop here.

ETSY shop
custom dogs, felting with fur, needle felting

Felting with Fur – part 1

amandafelting

I’ve just received another precious package through the post. A package of fur that from a dog who has now passed on, fur for me to felt with.

I have felt very privileged recently to be able to create for people who have lost a pet. Like most needle felters, I usually use sheep’s wool, but sometimes I use dog’s fur to felt with.

Dog fur can be surprisingly easy to felt with! Obviously the softer and fluffier the better, the soft undercoat that comes from grooming is the best fur for me to use.

This blog post is about the making of a dog named Bruce.

Felted Bruce started with a pipe cleaner armature to which I added a base layer of felted Shetland batt wool. I then started to add Bruce’s fur as a top layer. I started this even before I had finished off the dog’s feet as I was anxious to see just how feltable it was!

As well as the finer, more wiggly hairs from the soft undercoat, the fur contained a lot of longer straighter hairs that are more difficult to felt in. These hairs tend to stick out and as this was a smooth haired dog I took a bit of time felting over the body in an effort to get it to become smoother. The dog was mostly one colour but had some darker shades and some white patches. I initially tried to use the darker and lighter bits of fur to replicate the these but as the white parts of him did not look white enough, I added some white wool here. I also used wool for his eyes, nose and mouth.

To finish him I snipped off a lot of the sticky out hairs with scissors.

The way and the extent to which I use the dog fur depends on the amount, colouring and consistency of the fur. I like to keep in touch with the customer and let them know how I am using the fur and where I have used wool. Any left over fur is then returned with the dog.

Further blog posts will follow regarding felting with fur including one where I look at the difference between dog fur and dog hair!

custom dogs, needle felting, Uncategorized

Hello 2022!

amandafelting

And Hello To You!

Bedlington Terrier made using Wensleydale wool and other British wools

It’s been a funny old couple of years but a new year for me feels like having a clean slate, a fresh start, a new enthusiasm, a time to revisit and hopefully rethink and expand on my goals.

This year I will be exploring new British wools (I’ve just fallen in love with Wensleydale wool locks) and creating new dog breeds.

Let me know in the comments or using the contact me page if you would like to see a particular breed or would like to order a custom replica of your pet.

Also new for this year I plan to add a shop section , but for now, please use my Etsy shop for browsing and purchasing by clicking this button.

Etsy Shop

Bye for now!