The shaggy white hairs of the old man cactus are actually spines that make the green stalk appear almost white. The hair is soft and keeps the plant cool in its blazing-hot natural habitat of Mexico. The fuzzy look of this project is achieved by brushing the stuffed crochet work with a stiff hairbrush. Acrylic or wool yarns work best for brushing--don’t use cotton yarn for this project. You may want to crochet a test swatch first with your chosen yarn (about 2” x 2”), then brush it to see how it looks.