Icelandic Sheep Knitted Christmas Sweater: The Lopapeysa With Sheep On It
There is no red on this sweater anywhere.
The Owl checked, because somebody asked, and then checked again in front of them. Charcoal, cream, taupe and a soft brown. The trim is charcoal. That is the whole palette.
Icelandic Sheep is the quietest thing we sell, and it has a band of small cream sheep marching across the chest, which is the only joke it is prepared to make.
The Owl explains the sheep
The lopapeysa is the Icelandic sweater with the wide patterned yoke, and it is younger than people assume. It arrived in the middle of the twentieth century and became a national uniform inside about a generation, which is fast for a knitting tradition.
Its palette is not a design decision. Icelandic sheep grow fleece in cream, grey, charcoal, taupe and brown, and the classic sweater is those colours undyed and put next to each other. So when we put sheep on an Icelandic sweater we are putting the animal onto its own coat, which the Owl finds funnier than anybody else here does.
Nine whole sheep walk across the front. Eighteen bands: an eight-point star stated three times up top, trees, snowflakes, diamonds, crosses, and the speckled lice field doing the ground work in between. The charcoal takes about seventy percent of the surface, which is why it reads calm from across a room and detailed from a metre away.
The Owl was asked whether it needed a line of red to be festive. She said the sheep can carry it. She was asked again. She said the sheep can carry it.
The Ugly Rating: 2 out of 10
Low, and we are not pretending otherwise.
The Chief Festivity Officer, a capybara, rated the ugliness 2 and the usefulness 9, and pointed out that these are not the same number and have never needed to be. He then went back to his tangerine.
Because there is a party you have been to. The invitation said ugly sweater. Your boss is going. The photographs end up somewhere permanent. Icelandic Sheep obeys the letter of that dress code, breaks the spirit of it quietly, and leaves you the best dressed person in a room full of people who were trying to look bad.
What the rest of them made of it
Shown to the leadership team last thing on a Friday, which the Owl claims was a coincidence.
Sitting Duck, Head of Quality Control
Sat very still. Looked at it. Said nothing. Then said nothing again, at greater length, and put his hand flat on the yoke for a moment before leaving. Our Head of Quality Control has never done that before and the Owl has mentioned it every day since.
Cool Cat, Head of Morale
Objected on the grounds that it does not light up, make a noise, or contain a pom-pom. Also objected to the absence of red. Also wore it to the office thing and was photographed more than anyone. Has conceded nothing.
Deer, Head of Illuminations
Our Head of Illuminations looked at the charcoal ground and said, correctly, that fairy lights would show up beautifully against it. He was told no. He said he understood. He does not.
Bull, Head of Careful Handling
Approved it immediately, on the basis that dark grey hides everything a black one would and looks less like funeral wear, which is the most detailed opinion our Head of Careful Handling has ever given about anything.
Every form Icelandic Sheep comes as
Four, all knitted rather than printed, so the pattern is made of stitches and not ink.
The knitted crew, $149
The full eighteen-band lopapeysa chart, charcoal ground, nine sheep across the chest. Real jacquard through our custom knit program, two colours per row, charcoal 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 removed, V-neck added. This is the one that gets worn to work in the second week of December and then keeps getting worn into March, because nothing about it announces a season.
The knitted pet sweater, $75
Same pattern, same yarns, resized for a dog, with the sheep band across the back. A dog wearing sheep is the single best sentence in this article and we are aware of it.
The you-and-your-dog matching set, $199
One for you, one for the dog, $199 together against $224 apart. Two calm grey creatures in matching Icelandic knitwear, one of whom understands what is happening. The set expects you to order different sizes.
Wearing the quiet one
It goes with everything, which is the point and also the trap. Charcoal knitwear disappears if you put it with more charcoal, so give it one clean contrast: blue denim, cream trousers, tan boots. Nothing else patterned.
It runs true to size, unisex classic. Between sizes, or after the slouchy look, go up one. The sizing and fit guide has the detail.
This is the design that most rewards being a real knitted garment rather than a printed sweatshirt. Nothing on it says December, so nothing on it stops working in February. Several of ours get bought for a party and then quietly become the sweater somebody wears all winter.
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 lopapeysa?
The Icelandic sweater with a wide circular band of pattern radiating from the neck across the shoulders, worked in undyed sheep colours. It appeared in the mid-twentieth century and became Iceland’s national sweater within a generation.
Why is there no red on it?
Because Icelandic sheep do not grow red. The whole palette is the animal’s own fleece shades, which is the tradition, and the sheep band is where the Christmas comes from instead.
How is this different from the Icelandic Yoke sweater?
Same colourway, same tradition, different chart. Icelandic Yoke is pure geometry with a deep patterned yoke and a quiet body. Icelandic Sheep gives a full band over to the sheep.
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 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, on the grounds that doing so is rude.
When is the last day to order Icelandic Sheep for Christmas?
November 15, worldwide, on every knitted form. Printed items run later, to December 11 in the USA.
The Festive Folks’ Verdict
Buy Icelandic Sheep if the invitation says ugly sweater and the venue has a coat check. It is the calmest thing we make, it has sheep on it, and the Duck put his hand on it, which in nine months has happened exactly once.
The Deer is still holding the fairy lights.
Keep browsing
- Icelandic Yoke, the pure geometry version
- Setesdal, the Norwegian lusekofte
- Matching sets for you, the family and the dog
Or head straight to the full shop: every design, every form, one place.
