Most people would have just tossed away the fur their pets shed, but this California woman had a different idea. Josie Francis is a popular TikToker with over 30,000 followers. Recently, she came up with the idea to turn the fur shed by her rabbit, Phoebe, into a hat. She said it took over a year to gather enough material for the project. Afterward, she sent the shed fur to an unknown professional, who spun it into yarn. The yarn was then sent to another person, who knitted it into a hat.
Besides the big hat that Josie Francis wears, the knitter also made a much smaller one for Phoebe. The second hat is tiny and fits perfectly on the bunny’s head. Unfortunately, since it’s made from the rabbit’s fur, it blends so well with its coat that it’s hard to see. “I can twin with my bestie!” the California woman said happily after putting the hat on her rabbit.
Francis seemed very satisfied with her new hat. She acknowledged that the process of making it was ‘kind of cuckoo,’ but she didn’t regret it. “I know it’s morbid, but one day, Phoebe won’t be here anymore, but I will have this beanie until the end of time,” Francis said. The California woman said that the hat felt incredibly soft and that she would probably wear it every day.
Besides making a hat from her rabbit’s fur, Francis is currently working on establishing a clothing brand with her best friend. She is extremely obsessed with clothes that have fur, which is also reflected in her TikTok username. While mass-producing the Phoebe beanie is impossible, she intends to launch a limited edition of the product. However, there is no official release date yet.
Fans who saw the hat loved it. “You know it’s a Phoebeanie, right?” one fan commented. Many said that Francis’ decision to turn the rabbit’s fur into a hat wasn’t morbid. In fact, some even called it smart. “This is actually anything but morbid—I think this is the most ethically sourced beanie in the world right now,” another fan said.
There were also those who tried to correct Francis. In the video, she said that she asked someone to knit a hat for her, but they pointed out that the person had actually crocheted it. “FYI, they crocheted the beanie—quite different from knitting,” one fan commented.