Learning to Knit a Lopapeysa
WELCOME to this journey of mine…I honestly didn’t think I would be here but I’m so damn excited. I have always been intimidated by the fiber arts — crotchet and I didn’t get along. To my surprise I have obsessively taken to knitting and, of course in Melissa fashion I jumped off a cliff instead of starting slow with the craft. To prepare for my first sweater, I started with a tiny Icelandic wool sweater for my precious fur baby. He looked so dashing, but was so quickly over my bullshit.
Okay, enough of the cuteness..on to my first Lopapeysa attempt! I followed a pattern from Icelandic knitter, Hélène Magnússon. I picked this sweater pattern because of it’s floral motif, and resemblance to Art Deco. I have been attracted to and continue to be inspired by in Icelandic textiles is the embroidered florals. I picked a somewhat unconventional color palette, but I tend to gravitate towards muted tones. I followed my heart.
So, for my first sweater, I am super proud of it! Lot’s of lessons were learned — like knitting so tight that my hands needed a break for a few weeks and color dominance! Also, knitting with 4 colors at once is SO HARD. The yolk of the sweater is so tight it literally sits on my neck like a volcanic crater. Haha
After my hands got some well needed rest, I began to look for inspiration to not only knit a new sweater but also design it myself with my own hand drawn motifs. I have been doing research on the origins of the Lopapeysa and the visual motifs on these sweaters. To my surprise it is a fairly recent good being produced in Iceland, dating to mid 20th century. Though, knitting has been a means of textile production in Iceland since 16th century. There are a number of origin stories, it is said the Lopapeysa was inspired by the Greenlandic National Costume. It has gained popularity as an iconic Icelandic good. What distinguishes the Lopapeysa from other nordic sweaters is the unique Icelandic wool they are knit with and it’s simplicity in construction that it is fully knit from the bottom up to the yolk continually on the same circular needles — there are no seams.
My design is inspired by embroidery from the Icelandic National Costume. I decided I want the design to be more true to the original Lopapeysa pattern, which had a yolk motif and simplified elements from the yolk design on the arm cuffs and bottom hem of the sweater. I’m excited to see if I can pull off my vision for this sweater!
This is where I currently am. CHECK BACK FOR AN UPDATE! – 03.17.25
