Fiber Art
Icelandic Knitting Traditions
Course Overview
The classic Icelandic yoke sweater is a post-WWII knitting tradition with a distinct Icelandic twist. The Icelandic sheep breed is two-coated-- a soft inner coat and very long glossy outer coat. When the wool was sent to the mill, it came back as roving, called lopi, and was ready to spin into yarn. In the 1920's an inspired knitter skipped the spinning stage and knit the pencil roving to create a soft, warm fabric. The use of lopi in natural colors became popular for knitting ski sweaters with the distinct yoke design. In this workshop, we will explore the tradition and knit a cap using lopi to introduce you to working with this special yarn. Students should be intermediate knitters.