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A lopapeysa () or Icelandic sweater is an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic style of
sweater
A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English),[ ...](_blank)
originating in early or mid-20th century, at a time when imports had displaced older and more traditional Icelandic clothing and people began to search for new ways to utilize the plentiful native wool. The design has since become a national icon for Icelandic cultural identity.
Terminology
''Lopapeysa'' (plural ''lopapeysur'') is a compound word, from ''lopi'', denoting the particular kind of unspun yarn traditionally used to make ''lopapeysur'', and ''peysa'' 'sweater, jumper, pullover'. Thus the word literally means 'sweater made of lopi'.
Design of the sweater
It is characterized by a
yoke design – that is a wide decorative circle surrounding the neck opening. The sweater is
knitted
Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...
in a non-varying circle, meaning that there is no difference between the front and the back, unless a
zipper
A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...
is added. The body of the sweater is knitted using circular needles, while 'the sleeves are picked up onto the needle containing the bodice. The shaping of the shoulders by gradually casting off is incorporated into the pattern of the yoke'. The
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufact ...
used, ''
lopi'', is made from the wool 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 that it was introduced to Iceland by Vikings in the late nint ...
and contains both wind hairs and fleece. Lopi is remarkable in that it is not
spun
''Spun'' is a 2002 American black comedy crime drama film directed by Jonas Åkerlund from an original screenplay by William De Los Santos and Creighton Vero, based on three days of De Los Santos's life in the Eugene, Oregon, drug subculture. The ...
, so it contains more air than spun yarn and as a consequence it has better
insulation
Insulation may refer to:
Thermal
* Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer
** List of insulation materials
** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency
*** Insulated ...
properties. This also makes lopi more difficult to handle than spun yarn, in particular for those new to the material. Icelandic wool has earned an international reputation for its warmth, lightness, and insulation abilities so that even when wet, it keeps you warm.
The colors can be artificial, but undyed wool of various colors is available and much in demand. 'Originally, the sweater had a patterned band of at least two colours at the hem, the wrist and the yoke, forming the main pattern across the shoulders. During the 21st century, this changed so that now it is common for only the yoke to be patterned'.
Characteristics of the wool
As a breed, the Iceland sheep is unique - the purity of the strain has been protected by centuries of isolation and a total absence of contact with others. By the same token, the wool it produces has no counterpart anywhere.
Evolving over 1,100 years of exposure to the sub-Arctic climate, Icelandic wool has a distinctive combination of inner and outer fibers. The outer fibers are long, glossy, tough and water resistant, while the inner ones are fine, soft and insulating, providing a high resistance to cold. A further striking characteristic of the Iceland sheep is its natural colors, black, grey, and brown as well as the usual white. Together, these create the distinctive look of Icelandic knitwear, one of the best-known examples of which is the lopi.
History
Knitting probably came to Iceland in the sixteenth century, but the ''lopapeysa'' originated in the early or mid-20th century, at a time when imports had displaced older and more traditional Icelandic clothing, industrial production was replacing hand-knitting, and people began to search for new ways to utilize the plentiful native wool and knitting skills. There is widespread speculation about the origins and originators of the style (including suggestions of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
ic women's costume, or
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
,
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
n,
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, or
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
textile patterns, and claims of original design by
Auður Laxness
Auður Sveinsdóttir Laxness (20 July 1918 – 29 October 2012) was an Icelandic writer and craftswoman, credited with influencing the design and popularity of the Icelandic Lopapeysa sweater during the mid-20th century. Her husband was Icelandic ...
), but the consensus of academic work so far is that the style had a range of foreign influences and no single originator.
In the wake of Icelandic
full independence from Denmark in 1944, the ''lopapeysa'' increasingly became an
invented tradition
Invented traditions are cultural practices that are presented or perceived as traditional, arising from the people starting in the distant past, but which in fact are relatively recent and often even consciously invented by identifiable historical ...
and a symbol of national identity. The ''lopapeysa'' has seen two main peaks in fashion: in the two or three decades following Icelandic independence from Denmark in 1944 and then again in the early 21st century as globalisation challenged the national identity. It and other goods inspired by it are in the twenty-first century also widely marketed to tourists in the country.
[Guðrún Helgadóttir, 'Nation in a Sheep’s Coat: The Icelandic Sweater', ''FORMakademisk'', 4.2 (2011), 59--68, https://dx.doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.201.]
See also
*
Mariusgenser
Marius sweaters ( no, Mariusgenser) are Norwegian-style knitted sweaters with patterns inspired by traditional Setesdal sweater ( no, Setesdalsgenser), but without lice, a type of pattern. While the traditional sweaters used the natural colors of ...
*
Lusekofte
The lusekofte (, '' lice jacket''), also called the Setesdalsgenser (''Setesdal sweater'') is a traditional Norwegian sweater, dating from the 19th century.
The original sweater features a black and white design, the name referring to the isola ...
*
Selburose
In Norwegian knitting, a ''selburose'' () is a knitted rose pattern in the shape of a regular octagram. It is traditionally used for winter clothing such as the Selbu mitten (''selbuvott'') and sweaters (''lusekofte, lopapeysa'' and ''mariusgen ...
*
Þjóðbúningurinn
Icelandic national costume, collectively known in Icelandic as ''Þjóðbúningurinn'' has enjoyed various levels of popularity since the term was coined in Iceland in the 19th century, during the struggle for independence. Since 2001 the natio ...
- Icelandic national costume
*
Icelandic tail-cap
The Icelandic tail-cap or skotthúfa is a typical part of the Icelandic national costume. Originally it was only worn by men, but starting in the 18th century women started to wear it along with the ''peysa'', a men's jacket with a single row of bu ...
Sources
Icelandic clothing
Knitted garments
Sweaters
Wool clothing