Possum Fur and Wool Fiber Blend for Knitting

Who knew that knitting with possum fur was a rage? In Dunedin, New Zealand, I picked up five skeins of wool that was manufactured there and is indigenous to the region because it consists of 40% possum fur, 50% Merino wool and 10% silk. It is soft, warm, and light weight.

When I got home, I looked up properties of this type blended wool and found a website Handknitting Possum Wool Yarn that stated the following:

Hand knitting Possum-Wool Yarn... Possum fur blended with merino wool makes a variety of yarns that are very special. Possum-wool yarn has all the properties that a 21st Century garment demands:

Feels like cashmere...
Is hard wearing...
Is light weight...
Is warmer than wool in winter and cooler in summer...
Breathes...
Has an angora 'glow' or halo to it...

NZ Nature says:

Possum Wool is luxuriously soft, incredibly lightweight, exceptionally warm and easy to wear. It won’t pill, it won’t wrinkle, it’s anti-static and is a market solution to an environmental challenge facing New Zealand. Once you’ve tried it nothing else will feel as warm and soft.

This yarn will be made into a shawl from a pattern I have used previously, written about in this prior posting found here, with the pattern from Knit Picks that can be found here. It may take a while to work up this possum fur, since I am making a wider shawl.

Not only can we knit with doghair, but we can also knit with possum, thanks to our furry friends.

I can't wait to start on the possum project!

Join me over at Kellis House for Show and Tell Friday. There is a lot of eye candy to behold there.