Pat Weston probably has one of Britain’s more unusual cardigans. Its uniqueness is in it’s yarn. Made from the hair brushed and dropped by her Samoyed dog, Pasha, its a family momento of a much adored pet...

Pasha and friend

Inspiration struck Pat when she visited Crufts Dog Show back in the late 70’s early 80’s. One of the stalls had clothing made out of Samoyed dog hair. Samoyed hair is perfect for making clothing as it doesn’t smell and falls out all over the place.

Samoyed dogs are very similar to Siberian Huskies. Their thick white coat has an undercoat which is soft and thick - a bit like cotton wool - and an outer coat made up of longer coarse hair. So Pat began collecting Pasha's hair which he dutifully left everywhere. He also needed to be groomed regularly, and all offerings were bundled into plastic bags and left in the attic.

Pasha was with Pat and her family for 12 years. When he died in 1983, Pat decided that she would do something with her collection of dog hair. Someone who spun wool using traditional methods agreed to give it a try: Pat would send off her bags of dog hair and in return she would receive balls of wool. The cardigan began to take shape. But still ten balls of wool down, her spinning friend disappeared without trace and the cardi - which actually turned out to be a jacket - was completed with wool similar to the quality of Pasha’s spun hair.

The cardi/jacket was lined by Pat’s mum. This was 15 years ago and it's still going strong, and still moulting heavily just as it's original owner did.