The Lopapeysa Sweater: A Journey North in Search of Iceland's Iconic Knitwear

One of those books you start rationing towards the end because you don’t want it to end. It’s really that good. A celebration of all things Icelandic – place, people, food, and yes – sweaters. The Lopapeysa is the thread connecting stories from the authors’ travels around Iceland. The stories are adventurous, educational, and above all entertaining. Great photography accompanies the stories and interviews with Icelanders from rock musicians to well-known knitwear designers to a 90-something knitter in a nursing home. If you buy the book wanting to knit an Icelandic sweater, you will finish it wanting to go to Iceland. Yes, there are patterns at the end and yes, they are lovely. But this book is so much more than that. If you are only interested in traditional Icelandic sweater patterns, I would steer you towards Védís Jónsdóttir’s Knitting with Icelandic Wool. Even better? Buy both books. Then you’ll have Jónsdóttir’s patterns and a fun interview with her about the history of the Lopapeysa.

Been waiting to read this book since I first heard about it, it did not disappoint. Kyle did an amazing job not only giving us the history of the Lopapeysa origins, but so much information about Iceland in general. Loved the sheer happenstance of how they met people as they traveled around the island. I'm looking forward to knitting my own lopapeysa. Toni's patterns, rather recipes, not only give you specific directions to make, but gives you guidelines to either mix and match in the book or create your own pattern.

It’s very rare that a travel guide, a journey through history, a photography adventure and a knitting book are all in one volume. This book captures all three elegantly. Not only are the patterns attractive and written in a style that’s pleasant to read and helpful to follow, but also the story of meeting interesting people throughout Iceland, digging into the history of knitting patterns and the Lopi sweater is wholly engaging and intriguing. The connection between Inca art and Icelandic wool is an exciting relationship. While traveling the Ring Road, this book takes you to meet all kinds of different people, knitters, rock stars, fishermen and more, and see the land of fire and ice as closely as a dear friend.I had never knit stranded color work before: following the instructions in the book, I was able to knit with the two handed method easily and made a hat very quickly. This isn’t a book for beginners but it’s definitely something that an early intermediate knitter could follow and build their skills.I’m looking forward to trying more of the patterns. When you knit them, after reading about the history, culture and people, you feel like you’re knitting something magic and the cool kids at the party will approve.

Kyle Cassidy I'm loving your mix of history, narrative, factz, and entertainment, that is so tasty in all your work. Your photos are so splendid, I'm jealous of the seams on the page when they eat a little. I also want " 27 8×10 color glossy photos, with a paragraph on the back of each one!" Seriously, I'd buy some of these photos as prints. I can't wait to read more! And of course, knit this!

This is such an awesome book. The travel sections made me fall in love with Iceland and its people. I can't wait to visit. It feels like such a welcoming place with absolutely beautiful natural features. I'm in awe of the underground hot springs and the waterfalls.The book does a fabulous job of exploring the history of the Lopapeyesa, and how a relatively new phenomenon has somehow become a unifying cultural symbol of Iceland.I love how the tradition and spirit of the lopapeysa has been translated into these patterns, but I'm especially excited about knitting puffins. And the dress. And also the short-sleeve sweater. Basically, all of the patterns. I've never knit a sweater before, but this book makes me feel like I can.....especially if it has puffins! Who knows, this book might even make me brave enough to steek. :)

This book does a great job of giving us the history of the Lopapeysa sweater and giving us patterns to make one our own but it goes well beyond that. It’s a knitting/travel book that you’ll want to read cover to cover (I did, the minute I received it). You’ll also want to go to Iceland! Immediately. The well written insights and the engagement of local sweater knitters and wearers is compelling as is the beautiful photography. Great job Joan and Kyle!

I love Toni Carr's designs and eagerly ordered this book. My first reaction was oh.....what a mess.See, the pages of the book are poor quality, and look like they were printed on my home printer. It was delivered on a wet day, and the whole book was warped and the ink beginning to run. Even though the book was wrapped and the packaging was only damp, not sodden. I had another knitting book delivered in the same box and its pages were perfectly fine.I hope Toni can work with the publisher to correct this. I skimmed over the patterns, and am going to gamble that the ink will hold well enough for me to actually make the items. A knitting book should be sturdy, because you would expect it to get a lot of use. This, well, the publisher went on the cheap and it's a disservice to us knitters.

When I ordered this book I was thinking that it would be a great way to try out some Icelandic knit sweater patterns. And it is! BUT knitting patterns are only a sliver of what this book has to offer. The Lopapeysa Sweater is woven with beautiful stories of travel through Iceland that are only outdone by the tremendous photography. It is densely occupied with historical tales of sheep and fibers and the scenery of Iceland. Ten minutes into reading, I had already learned so much (and I have been a knitter for 25 years)! It's truly a great addition to your knitting and travel book library - and probably the next best thing to knitting your way through Iceland!