Icelandic sheep are the only ones that live on the island. As such, their genetics are well preserved. The wool there is mostly processed by Istex, the company that makes lopi yarn in various sizes. There is Alafosslopi (bulky), Lettlopi (worsted), Einband (laceweight), and Plotulopi (unspun wool used for knitting) along with a few others.
I bought Einband for tapestry weaving. More on that later in the post. I also bought a few skeins of Lettlopi to try my hand at some Icelandic/Nordic mittens. The pattern is Emma’s Ice Flower Mittens (Ravelry link). I forgot how much I enjoyed stranded colorwork. And I have to say that this yarn is outstanding for this kind of garment. Oh my goodness but this Lettlopi grabs. These stitches aren’t going anywhere.
Knitting Icelandic Mittens with Lopi yarn in Iceland
Let me back up. I bought the yarn because I found it in the grocery store and I loved the blues with the white and in the back of my head I thought I would knit something small—mittens or a hat. Then I found this pattern and THEN I realized I didn’t have the right knitting needles. I knew I might use this worsted-weight yarn while here so I brought needles in the 6, 7, 8 US range. The pattern calls for much smaller needles which of course makes a tighter fabric. There is a small store in Blonduos that still carries some yarn and I hoped they had knitting needles. There were indeed a set of DPNs in approximately the size I needed. I bought them and I was off.
My Icelandic mittens in progress, knit with Lettlopi.
The Textile Museum in Blönduós has a collection of Icelandic mittens. The patterns are fascinating and I’m not the first person to think so. This book, Icelandic Mittens: 25 Traditional Patterns Reimagined, is one I’ve seen in several places in both Icelandic and English. The patterns in this book are based on the mitten collection at the Textile Museum.
Icelandic Mittens at the Textile Museum in Blönduós, Iceland
A game of yarn chicken
I quickly remembered how much I like stranded colorwork. It is all stockinette and all you’re doing is switching colors back and forth. With some yarns, getting the tension correct can be tricky. The Lettlopi was amazing. It grabs the neighboring strands which makes the knitting quite easy.
The needles I was able to get were just a bit bigger than I should have had for gauge. My hands are fairly large and the mittens will fit, but it means I’m using more yarn and even though I did the cuff in a third color, it was definitely a game of yarn chicken. It didn’t occur to me until partway through the second mitten that I might run out and then I was sure I was going to. Since there is no yarn in the Blönduós grocery any more and the other shop in town that sells yarn doesn’t carry Lopi, I was more than a little worried. Who wants a mitten with a different colored thumb?
That week we were going to a natural hot pot 60 km from Blönduós and my fantastic friends agreed to the side trip to Skagaströnd to check for another ball of the dark blue Lettlopi so I could finish my mittens. After digging through the very small amount of this yarn they carry, I found one ball stuffed at the back which turned out to be the same dye lot. Victory!
The last ball the Skagaströnd grocery had. It was even the same dye lot.
I kept knitting and the elves must have helped me out because here I am with only the decreases for the last thumb left and there was still yarn in the original balls.
The final thumb. The yarn chicken game looks like it might be going my way.
I didn’t need that extra ball of yarn anyway. Think I’ll knit another pair with it? Probably but I’ll make them for someone with smaller hands!
Here I am with the finished mittens. They still need a good blocking but they turned out really pretty!
The finished mittens and a sunset over the Blanda River, Blönduós, Iceland
Einband for Tapestry Weaving
Istex also makes a yarn called Einband. This is a thin singles yarn that is quite similar in size to the yarn I use made by Harrisville for my large tapestries. I was keen to try this Icelandic single for tapestry weaving. It is a lovely yarn and I have done one small test with it thus far. I have been collecting a fair number of colors. I don’t know how many they make, but I might have gone overboard a little bit. I won’t have enough for a large tapestry but I will have enough to play with in some small ones.
The woven sampler I did had four different yarns. The bottom one is Einband. Above that is Plotulopi (an unspun roving that I twisted a bit on the wheel and will be doing more tests with), then Lettlopi (the yarn I knit the mittens with), then handspun Icelandic fleece at the top. The handspun is my favorite for various reasons, but the other examples make good tapestry yarns also.
Yarn sampler with handspun Icelandic fleece at the top, then Lettlopi, Plotulopi (which I lightly spun on the wheel), and Einband at the bottom. Loom is the Mirrix Saffron which packs up really small for trips.
I’m continuing my sampling with all of these ways to prepare Icelandic fleece. So far I love the natural colors in handspun the best, but I’ll keep experimenting because spinning enough yarn for a large format tapestry is a lot to take on!
Those of you who are my tapestry students know that I advise against using knitting yarns for tapestry weaving. This yarn is different. Yes, they probably produce it primarily for knitting but that is just because no one weaves tapestry in Iceland. As Guðmann, the Istex plant manager said, Icelandic fleece is not soft. He is right. It isn’t. The thing he said next was that it is strong, and that it is. (I talked about my visit to the Istex wool scouring plant last week HERE.) The long outer coat is excellent for things like rug making and of course tapestry. The processed yarn here generally has both coats in it and that means the singles are not going to drift apart because the staple is SO long and that the shorter fibers give it all a little body that yarn I made with just the outer coat doesn’t have.
These yarns are not ones I am probably going to be able to source in any volume. My wish to do this project had more to do with understanding the characteristics of this dual-coated sheep and how the yarn looks with various preparations when woven in tapestry. Obviously the knitting was fun too!
You can find all the Iceland posts I’ve written as well as the ones to come in this category of the blog. In coming weeks I’ll have stories about Icelandic lambs, a huge tapestry based on one of the sagas, and more about my spinning and weaving experiments with Icelandic fleece.