Dala Horse Knitted Christmas Sweater: The Loud Red Swedish One

This one is red. All of it. Deliberately.

The Owl designs most of the knitted range in a slow, quiet, unhurried way, and then roughly once a season she produces something like this and dares the room to say anything.

Dala Horse is a bright red ground with white prancing horses across the chest, white snowflakes, hearts, and thin black and grey bands holding the whole thing together. It is the loudest knit we make and it still looks like real knitwear, which is a harder trick than it sounds.

The Owl explains the horse

The Dala horse is Swedish, from Dalarna, and it started as something to carve out of offcuts by firelight when there was nothing else to do all winter. There is a written reference to them as early as 1623. They were painted red because red paint was what you had, made from copper mine tailings, and the red stuck so hard that a small wooden horse became the national symbol.

The knitted version reverses it. On a wooden Dala horse the horse is red. Here the ground is red and the horses are white, because white on red is what stays readable when the pattern is made of stitches. Six whole horses walk across the front, arched necks up, one front leg forward, tails down the haunch.

Nineteen bands in total, and the red is doing about three quarters of the work, which is unusual for us and took the Owl a while to accept. She rebuilt the horse once, early on, because the first one came out squat and could have been any animal. The second one prances.

Somebody asked whether it could be less red. The Owl said it could be, and then did not make it less red.

The Ugly Rating: 7 out of 10

The highest score in the traditional knits, and it earned every point.

The Chief Festivity Officer, a capybara, took his sunglasses off for this one, which has happened twice. He gave it a 7 and said it was the first heritage knit he would describe as a party sweater. He then put the sunglasses back on and the review was over.

Seven out of ten is the sweater that gets seen from the other end of the room. It is still a proper knit, still bands and charts and two colours a row, but you are not going to blend into anything.

What the rest of them made of it

Presented on a Thursday. The room reacted before anyone had spoken, which the Owl chose to take as a compliment.

Cool Cat, Head of Morale

Our Head of Morale approved of this one immediately and loudly, and has since claimed he asked for it, which he did not. He has worn it three times in a fortnight. He describes it as restrained.

Deer, Head of Illuminations

Asked whether the horses could be given fairy lights. Was told no. Pointed out that they are already white and would take the lights well. Was told no again. Is still holding the lights.

Sitting Duck, Head of Quality Control

Looked at the red for a long time without blinking. Did not sit down. Eventually nodded once and left. Our Head of Quality Control has never explained his process and we have stopped asking.

Raccoon, Chief Operating Officer

Our COO noted that this will outsell the calm ones by a distance and asked why we make the calm ones at all. The Owl explained. The Raccoon listened, wrote nothing down, and approved the red one.

Every form Dala Horse comes as

Four, all knitted rather than printed, so the pattern is made of stitches and not ink.

The knitted crew, $149

The full nineteen-band chart on a red ground, six whole horses across the chest. Real jacquard through our custom knit program, two colours per row, red ribbing at collar, cuffs and hem. Unisex classic fit, 3XS to 3XL, one price at every size. About two weeks on the needles.

The knitted vest, $119

Same chart, sleeves off, V-neck on. A red knitted vest over a white shirt is a specific decision and the people who make it never make it accidentally.

The knitted pet sweater, $75

Same pattern, same yarns, resized for a dog, horses across the back. The smaller sizes fit a cat. A red cat is a strong look and we accept no responsibility for the consequences.

The you-and-your-dog matching set, $199

One for you, one for the dog, $199 together against $224 apart. This is the most photographed combination we sell in the traditional range, for the obvious reason that it is two red things walking down a street together.

Wearing this much red on purpose

Blue denim, white trainers, and absolutely nothing else with a pattern on it. Red knitwear needs the rest of the outfit to stand completely still. Add a second red item and the effect goes from Swedish folk tradition to seasonal staff uniform in one step.

It runs true to size, unisex classic. Between sizes, or if you want it slouchy, go up one. The sizing and fit guide has the detail.

This is a real knitted garment rather than a printed sweatshirt. It comes out of the box heavy, the pattern is stitches all the way through, and it will still be a sweater long after December has finished with it.

When can you get it?

Every knit is made to order and ships standard only, so the Christmas deadline lands earlier than people expect.

Order by November 15 for delivery before Christmas, worldwide. That is the hard date on every knitted form: the crew, the vest, the pet sweater and the matching sets. There is no express option on knitwear, because the two weeks on the needles happens before anything ships and no carrier can win that time back.

After November 15 the knits stay orderable, they simply arrive after Christmas Day. If you are reading this in December and something has to be under a tree, the all-over-print sweatshirts and badge tees run until December 11 in the USA. Every date sits on the shipping and cut-off page.

FAQ

What is a Dala horse?

A carved wooden horse from Dalarna in Sweden, painted red, made through the winters since at least the 1600s and now a national symbol. Our version puts the horse into a knitted chart and flips the colours, so the ground is red and the horses are white.

Is Dala Horse too loud for an office party?

It scores 7 out of 10 on our Ugly Rating, which makes it the loudest of the traditional knits and still quieter than anything with a battery in it. If you want the calm end of the range, look at Icelandic Sheep instead.

Is it knitted or printed?

Knitted. Real jacquard through our custom knit program, two colours per row, made after you order it. That is why it takes about two weeks and why the November 15 date exists.

Does the dog version match the human one exactly?

Yes. Same pattern, same yarns, resized rather than reinterpreted, horses included. The $199 matching set is the cheaper way to buy both.

Does the price change by size?

Never. One flat price per form across the whole range, 3XS to 3XL. We do not charge more for a bigger sweater.

When is the last day to order Dala Horse for Christmas?

November 15, worldwide, on every knitted form. Printed items run later, to December 11 in the USA.

The Festive Folks’ Verdict

Buy Dala Horse if you want to be seen. It is the one design in the traditional range that behaves like a party sweater while still being knitted properly, and it is the only knit that has ever made the Capybara remove his sunglasses.

The Cool Cat maintains he asked for it. He did not.

Keep browsing

• Icelandic Sheep, the quiet end of the range
• Selbu Stars, black white and red
• Matching sets for you, the family and the dog

Or head straight to the full shop: every design, every form, one place.