Possum Hair

2020- 2021, Virginia

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Materials: 2-ply North American possum hair yarn

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A year long project to explore North American possum hair as a textile fiber. Hair was removed from seven roadkill possums using wood ash lye, washed using various methods, hand carded, spun by hand-carved wooden drop spindle, and crocheted into a sleeping cap using a crochet needle carved from American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) wood. The hat required 438 ft of 2-ply yarn, or approximately four possum's worth of hair yarn. It was then worn hard for a year of outdoor sleeping to test its durability.

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