ICELAND'S WOOL

When Viking settlers first arrived in Iceland in AD 874, they brought with them two breeds of domestic livestock, the horse and the sheep. Both were to play a vital role in the history and development of the country.

Iceland’s rugged environment has always presented a challenge to mankind. The horse became an important means of transport in this environment while sheep became the very key to the nation’s survival. Their meat became a staple in the Icelandic diet while their wool provided protection from the biting cold of the harsh northern climate. Without sheep, Iceland would have been uninhabitable.

Much of Icelandic life evolved around the wool - shearing, spinning, carding and knitting. This evolved into a craft tradition that has kept intact to this day.

As a breed, the Iceland sheep is unique, the purity of the strain having been protected by centuries of isolation and a total absence of contact with others. By the same token, the wool produced has no counterpart anywhere else in the world.

Developed by over a thousand winters of exposure to the severity of the sub-Arctic climate, Icelandic wool consists of two types of fibers, coarse and fine.

While the former are long, glossy, tough and water-resistant, the latter are soft and insulating, providing a high resistance to cold combined with a texture not unlike mohair. A further striking characteristic of the Iceland sheep is its natural colours, black, grey and light brown besides the usual white. Together these colours set their mark on Icelandic knit-wear.

Even today only natural energy sources such as geothermal and hydroelectric power are used in the manufacturing process, while the sheep still graze freely, as they have always done, on vast tracts of virgin land. The use of chemicals and detergents is kept to an absolute minimum to ensure the preservation of natural fats, leaving the wool as warm, light and water-resistant as nature herself intended.

Icelandic designers have gained international recognition for their imagination and their ability to blend the nature and landscape of their country into their work. the distinctive patterns are as much a part of Iceland as the country’s mountains, waterfalls and hotsprings.