Saturday, March 11, 2017

Lopapeysapalooza

Lopapeysapalooza


A flock of lopapeysa (traditional Icelandic yoked sweaters) caught on the fly during a community inspection of rams.

Lopapeysa

Lopapeysa

Lopapeysa

Lopapeysa

Lopapeysa

Check out the size and spacing of some of these motifs. Notice that strands are often carried for far more than five stitches–and nobody died. No weaving on the wrong side, either. When I asked about this, I was told that Icelandic wool felts so readily to itself that with very little wear, the long floats pretty much disappear into the fabric.

The longer I knit, the more I realize that Elizabeth Zimmermann was right: there are no rules in knitting that cannot be broken.

The tour company that brought me here has produced a thoroughly charming instructional video about these sweaters. Highly recommended.

Available link for download