I think she's got it backwards, Susan. Cat hair is *very* slick, and has lots of guard hairs (like some alpaca? llama? and camel that almost has to be hand-cleaned to get the guard hairs out?). Certainly, some of it is spinnable (if long enough), but the spinners I've heard discuss it often blend it with another fiber. And even then, it tends to "shed," which is pretty funny/ironic, since the cats shed it in the first place. I would imagine that for successful spinning of cat hair, you'd be pretty much limited to the under coat of just a few of the longer-haired breeds. --Sue, Domestic Servant to Four Kitties (to borrow someone else's job description ;o)
----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan Data-Samtak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Historical Costume" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 9:41 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] pet hair > <<Seems like the cuticle of the feline fiber (sorry, couldn't resist > the alliteration) is barbed>> > But aren't the barbs the reason that wool can be spun? It gives > texture so the spinning stays in. > > Susan > > "Slow down. The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel > too fast and you miss all you are traveling for". - "Ride the Dark > Trail" by Louis L'Amour > > On Jan 19, 2006, at 11:20 PM, Susan B. Farmer wrote: > > > Quoting [EMAIL PROTECTED]: > > > >> Ooops... Well, it all depends on the breed of cat's hair. I used > >> to spin collie hair and wool together. Why not Angora cat hair? > >> > > > > It's my understanding that the structure of cat hair makes it difficult > > if not impossible to spin. Seems like the cuticle of the feline fiber > > (sorry, couldn't resist the alliteration) is barbed. What I was told > > was that you could spin it -- and then just watch it unspin itself. I > > know lots of folks who spin Dog Hair, though. > > > > Jerusha, not a spinner or weaver _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
