Lopi () is knitting

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

made from the fleece of

Icelandic sheep The Icelandic is the Icelandic breed of domestic sheep. It belongs to the Northern European Short-tailed group of sheep, and is larger than most breeds in that group. It is thought to have been introduced to Iceland by Vikings in the late nint ...

. The fleece is made up of two layers, each with a different kind of wool. The wet-resistant outer coat contains long, coarse fibres, while the insulating layer beneath consists of soft, short fibres. These are processed together to create lopi

roving A roving is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. Rovings are produced during the process of making spun yarn from wool fleece, raw cotton, or other fibres. Their main use is as fibre prepared for spinning, but they may also be used for specialise ...

and yarn.

History

The machine- carded roving is produced in disc-shaped rolls. The original unspun lopi was first used for knitting c.1920s. More recently, lightly spun lopi yarn in different thicknesses has become available. Most wool produced in Iceland is processed by Ístex, the Icelandic Textile Company. They manufacture 7 types of spun lopi yarn and also unspun lopi, all in a variety of natural fleece shades and in a range of dyed colours. The yarn is available in stores in Iceland and all over the world.

Usage

Characteristic Icelandic lopapeysa sweaters are generally made from the thicker lopi yarns.

References

External links

Homepage of Ístex lopi producer

Homepage of Þingborg lopi producer
{{Knitting Wool industry Knitting Yarn Iceland Culture of Iceland