Icelandic Laceweight: Exploring Two Yarns from Hélène Magnússon

As I read the premier issue of Farm & Fiber Knits magazine, I was intrigued to learn that there are not one but two fairly new Icelandic laceweight yarns developed by French-Icelandic knitwear designer Hélène Magnússon. As she was working to revive Icelandic lace-knitting traditions, she needed modern yarns inspired by the fine Icelandic handspun of the past. Over several years, Hélène developed the yarns, for which she hand selects the first fleeces of Icelandic lambs. The fiber is processed and then spun into two different laceweight yarns: Love Story Einband (single-ply) and Gilitrutt Tvíband (two-ply).

What would these yarns feel like on the needles? I decided to do some swatching to find out.

An Icelandic sheep sporting the tog, the long outer coat of fiber. Photo by Julie Karen via Unsplash

Delicate Yarn from Mighty Fleece

Once I had these yarns sitting on my worktable and gave them a squish, I was surprised at the amount of bounce in both the single and the two-ply. The more I touched the little mounds, the more I wanted to work with them! Icelandic sheep—in Iceland and beyond—are known for having fleeces that contain a mix of both long, silky hair called tog, and a short, soft inner coat called Þel. The complex fleece structure is perfect for sheep in Iceland; the long hairy fibers are water-repellant, while the cozy inner coat creates an insulating layer that keeps the sheep warm. Both of these fibers are blended together to create most Icelandic yarns, and finding a mill that could spin a fine laceweight from the unique fiber was a challenge for Hélène. Finally, she found a mill in Italy that could create the laceweight yarns she needed.

From left to right: A full Icelandic lock, tog, and Þel.

Soft, Yet Hardy

Combining the inner and outer coats of the sheep gives the yarn a stronger structure that you don’t see in most laceweight yarns. I often work with a yarn that feels great but loses its perfectly blocked shape quickly, or it drapes so well that the shape and definition of the pattern gets lost when the shawl is worn. I don’t see that happening with these two yarns. The tog fibers give the yarn this stronger structure, while the Þel gives the yarn its bounce and softness.

Comparing heavier-weight, single-ply Lopi yarns with laceweight, single-ply Love Story Einband, I see that the twist is a bit different. The laceweight has a higher twist to keep the smaller amount of fibers safely spun together. The blend