How to Make Lopi Wool

Lopi yarn is made from a special breed of Icelandic sheep.

Lopi wool was originally the unspun wool roving that yarn factories in Iceland used to spin into yarn. The wool was a special dual-coated fleece from the native Icelandic breed of sheep. In the 1920s, Icelandic knitters started using the unspun roving to make their characteristic sweaters. Nowadays, Lopi yarn in a yarn shop is usually loosely spun, heavy gauge, singles wool. You can spin your own Lopi yarn at home, if you know a few tricks about fiber choice, fiber preparation and spinning technique.

Things You'll Need

• Icelandic fleece, scoured and dried
• Drum carder
• Spinning wheel
• Plastic PVC niddy noddy

Instructions

1. Pick apart the locks of Icelandic fleece. You will see that there is a coarse outer hair for the sheep and a finer, shorter, softer inner fleece. The outer hair is called the tog, and the inner, soft hair is called the thel. Lopi yarn is a blend of those two fibers, lightly spun. The coarse outer hair tends to go to the inside of the yarn, and the soft fur goes to the outside.

2. Lay your teased locks on the front of the drum carder, near the licker-in. Turn the crank of the drum carder, and the locks will be drawn in and around the larger drum, which cards them. Turn the crank a few times, and then take the wooden or metal "doffer" and insert it under the carded batt to lift it off the drum. Flip the batt over, and run it through the carder again. Repeat this action until the tog and thel are well-blended.

3. Pull your batt into long strips that you will then pre-draft. Pre-drafting consists of holding the fiber in one hand, while pulling a long roving out of the batt with the other hand. You want to create a sort of extended rolag. You will be spinning fast, and you won't have time to draft the fibers at the wheel, so this pre-drafting is essential. Make the pre-drafted roving as even as possible. Wrap the long roving around your hand to make a little "nest" that you will spin from.

4. Adjust your spinning wheel so that the flyer does not have a lot of tension on it, just enough to draw in the spun yarn. Treadle slowly at first, and use a long draw out to the side with your whole arm, in a kind of sweeping motion, before you allow the yarn to wind on. Continue spinning in this manner, putting as little twist as possible in the yarn, so that it just barely hangs together, enough for knitting. It should stay light and fluffy.

5. Wind the yarn onto a niddy noddy when the bobbin is full. Immerse the niddy noddy in a bucket of warm water. Let it soak until the wool is completely wet. Remove it from the bucket and let the yarn dry on the niddy noddy. This will set the twist in the singles yarn for knitting.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't find Icelandic wool, you can use a blend of mohair and merino.

• You can make Lopi yarn at any weight, but the type sold in yarn stores is usually a heavy-weight yarn.

• It is difficult to card the tog and thel together with hand cards, as the cards are too small to accommodate the long outer hairs.

References

• "Spinning for Softness and Speed"; Paula Simmons; 2009
• Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America; Notes from Judith Mackenzie's Class; 2001