Authentic Icelandic Yarn
All our yarn is 100% authentic Icelandic wool and all produced at our mill in the South of Iceland.
The wool we work with comes mainly from our own sheep, which we selectively breed to prioritise wool quality (not only meat production) and to produce all the colors that can be found in the Icelandic breed – white, moorit (brown), grey, black, badgerface, mouflon, flecked etc. Producing authentic Icelandic yarn starts when deciding which ewe to lead to which ram to breed for the best quality fleece.
We make yarn in the natural colors of each individual fleece. They are chemical-free and we do not dye our natural color yarn to create standardised shades. Each batch is unique as each sheep is unique. We use mild, nature-friendly soap when washing and treat every fleece with care and respect, selecting the type of yarn we make from each fleece based on the characteristics of that fleece.
We only use high quality wool for our yarn and it can come from either lambs or adult sheep. It is not necessarily the age of the sheep that decides the quality of wool. There can be other factors, like weather, feed, and the genetic role of the animal that matters the more. But how we treat it and work with it is also very important. Since we only use mild soap for washing, there is still lanolin in the garment when finished knitting so that the natural ability of the wool to keep you warm and dry is not lost.
We also dye small batches of yarn, dying on white, grey, and brown bases to produce a range of stunning colors. These are ever changing so you can either try your luck with our current stock, or request a custom dye order.
All our wool is non-superwash (an environmentally toxic process that strips the outer layers of the wool fibre and coats it in plastic), and mulesing is not practised anywhere in Iceland.
Our goal is to work in collaboration with nature and fully utilize every fleece. We believe there is no such thing as waste wool – all wool can be of use. The best parts of the fleece we turn into yarn, the worst parts (felted and/or soiled fibres) into compost. In this way, we show respect to the sheep that produced the wool, and the land that nourished the sheep.
Our sheep
We have been breeding Icelandic sheep for high quality wool since 2011 and yes, they all have names!
Our sheep are all without horns naturally and we breed for this trait as well. Horns increase the risks during lambing (they can get stuck inside the ewe) and injuries from getting trapped in fences or in the horns of other sheep. Plus, they put no blue-bruises on my thighs, when they don’t have horns.
We believe the heart of the Icelandic sheep lives in the highlands, that is where they feel their best, and so we take our sheep to their highland range every summer. When you find the occasional small bit of grass in our yarn, it is the story of the sheep’s summer adventure. In the winter, we care for them in our barn, feeding them hay grown on our farm during the summer. We are the first farm in Iceland to adopt regenerative farming practices – an approach that strives to restore and build the health of the farm ecosystem, rather than simply extract from it. ‘We are what we eat’, and the same goes for sheep, meaning our sheep produce an incredibly high standard of wool because they graze on diverse, healthy pastures (that require no artificial fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides).
Our Icelandic yarns:
Hulduband (hidden woman yarn) is 2 ply, aran weight – 200 meters per 100 grams (218yards per 3.527oz). Needle size 4,0 to 5,0 mm recommended: Gauge for 4,5 mm needle is 18 sts and 24 rounds for 10×10 cm. Hulduband is by far our most popular yarn, since it can be used for so many projects, whether it is an everyday sweater, a pair of mittens or a hat. We recommend clothes from Hulduband to keep you warm during hikes, horseback riding or any other outdoor activities, since they are often light and can fit well underneath a jacket or a raincoat – keeping wool close to your skin is key to staying warm in all kinds of weather.
Dís (the fairy) is 2ply, fingering weight – 440 meters (481 yards) per 100 grams of yarn. Needle size 1,5 to 3,0 is recommended: Gauge for 3,0 mm needle is 25 sts and 32 rounds for 10×10 cm. Dís is made from lambs wool, clean and soft and shorn the same day that the lambs are housed for winter. Making the very fine thread of Dís requires a lot of care and attention, and therefore it is absolutely necessary that it is clean and well-selected. Dís is ideal for knitting shawls, and many have been knitted with this wonderful yarn. When knitting for a baby or finer garments, such as finer sweaters and mittens with complex patterns, we recommend Dís.
Dvergaband (dwarf yarn) is 3ply, bulky weight – 100 meters (109 yards) per 100 gram. Needle size 5,0 to 6,5 mm is recommended: Gauge 6,0 mm needle is 13 sts and 18 rounds for 10x10cm. We reccommend our Dvergaband for projects designed to keep you especially warm, such as a big, cosy sweater for the wintertime. The farmers all around us often request a sweater from Dvergaband to use for their outdoor work, but the wool is quite adjustable to different temperatures and has the unique quality of keeping them warm even if they get a little wet in the rain or snow.
