Lopapeysa: The Icelandic Wool Sweater

In fact, the Icelandic wool sweater or lopapeysa as the locals call it has become somewhat of an Icelandic icon.

The traditional lopapeysa comes in natural colors: black, white, brown, gray, and beige. Those are made from uncolored wool. The most popular patterns are zig-zagged once but with increased popularity, in recent years the pattern creations have taken a new life.

Nowadays you’ll see children wearing them with incredible animal ribbons, adults with different threads in contrast with the wool and sometimes the patterns even make up landscapes or fan-art. 

Furthermore, you can get them with a zipper, buttons, hoodie, long sleeves, and short sleeves. 

Today you can buy them all around the country, at farmers’ markets, second-hand stores, Handknitting Association of Iceland shops, and some tourist-aimed locations like Gullfoss and Geysir.

If you’re planning on getting one, do it early in your trip. There is nothing that will keep you as warm, dry, and breathe as nicely as a wool sweater when traveling around Iceland!  

Icelandic wool sweaters are solely made from the wool of Icelandic sheep: a breed of sheep that has been isolated for over 1,100 years and adapted to the incredibly harsh weather rand sub-Arctic climate.

As a result, their wool, which is truly compatible with any other kinds of wool, is made up of a distinctive mixture of inner and outer fibers. Of which the inner fibers are fine, soft, and insulating, while the outer fibers are longer, tough, and glossy, making them water-resistant.

The combination of the two makes for the perfect layer of clothing for cold climate. Which is exactly something you will be dealing with when visiting Iceland. 

Additionally, the wool comes in many different colors, so when knitted together the patterns become unbelievably beautiful. 

The wool is now artificially colored in any color of the rainbow so you can get sweaters in just about any pigment you want. However, if you are looking to get an Icelandic sweater in an au naturel color, you might want to keep on reading. Especially if you want to see some of the strangest words found in the Icelandic language!

The colors of the Icelandic sheep are split into three categories. There are the colors, the patterns, and the two-colored sheep. 

There are only 4 natural colors: white, yellow, black, and rusty brown, but there are 6 patterns, and the 2-colored ones appear in numerous ways. Just for the fun of it, I’ll show you the Icelandic names of those colors. 

First the patterns:

And then the various two-colored ways the sheep can appear in:

There was a time when I was growing up when these amazingly warm garments weren’t in style, but when the economy crashed in 2008 Icelanders went back to their old ways. They started making home-made blood and liver pudding and equal in cultural significance, started knitting wool sweaters.

Since then, brands like Farmers Market and Geysir have popped up, taking the conventional sweaters and making them cool again. Now you’ll see even the most stylish of fashionistas wearing the sweaters!

The cost depends on 2 major factors. These are the location in Iceland, and whether or not you are willing to buy a used one.

Used ones start at about ISK 8,000, but they do go up to about ISK 20,000 when bought new in downtown Reykjavík. However, if you head further out of the city the prices often go down. Local farmers’ markets in smaller towns and villages, for example, are a great place to buy one. Especially since then the chances are the person selling it is the one who made it!

The sweaters are hand-wash only in lukewarm water (30°C/86°F). Soak in the water with a few drops of laundry detergent and be careful not to rub or wring too much but softly squeeze the liquid through.

Now, try to wring out the garment to release the water. If needed, you can spin it in the dryer for about 1–3 minutes to remove excess moisture. Leave to dry on top of a towel. 

Find out more about Icelandic souvenirs to take home!