Autumn Knitting Retreat in Icelandic nature 1, September 28 – October 4, 2025
ISK385.000
Autumn Knitting Retreat in North West of Iceland, Textile Museum, possible Northern lights, colorful landscapes, lopi sweater
Departure: September 28, October 4, 2025
This colorful tour is an autumnal variation of the popular Spring knitting tour. It will take us to the beautiful West of Iceland where the flamboyant landscape, the changing leaves, the spongious moss and the blueberries, the sheep just returned from the mountains and the joyful goats will inspire us as much as the knitting artefacts in the Textile Museum in Blönduós. At this time of the year, we will get a chance to see Northern lights if the weather allows. Hélène will tell us about the Icelandic knitting traditions with a focus on the youngest of them all, the famous Icelandic lopi sweater. We will meet with many local crafters, spinners, dyers, for an unforgettable insight into the Icelandic culture and knitting heritage. This trip doesn´t have any hiking but easy sight seeing. Accommodation in comfortable guesthouses with gourmet kitchen.
Upon booking, you will receive a link to fill up the registration form.
Please read the detailed information below >
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Upon booking, and in order to make your trip enjoyable, please make sure you are familiar with the physical condition required, the day-to-day itinerary, the hikes, as well as the list of equipment. For any questions, please check our FAQ first (answers to frequently asked questions).
Departure: September 28 – October 4, 2025, confirmed
Group size: 12
Price: 385000 ISK
Single room supplement (only in Reykjavik): 15.000 ISK
Not included in price: flights to and from Keflavík International airport
Included in price:
- 1 guide/knitting instructor
- 2 nights at a guesthouse in Reykjavík, double rooms, dressed beds, shared facilities. Possibility of single room.
- 2 nights in a country hotel, double rooms, dressed beds, private facilities
- 2 nights in a country guesthouse, double and triple rooms, dressed beds, shared facilities
- Full board from day 2 till lunch day 6, breakfast on day 7.
- All transfers as per itinerary, knitting as per itinerary. Yarn for knitting little samples during the workshops.
Because participants come from all over the world, the tours are operated mainly in English but Hélène is bilingual in French. A lexical of knitting terms in German/English/French/Icelandic is available during the tour.
Physical condition: very easy.
The tour is accessible to all people in good health. In order to enjoy the sight-seeing, you should be able to go up and down a flight of stairs and to walk 600 m / half a mile on relatively flat but unveven terrain.
ITINERARY
Day 1 (September 28, 2025): Knitters arrive to Iceland from many different countries at various time during the day. Night at a conveniently located guesthouse in Reykjavík, close to the Icelandic Handknitting Association of Iceland, full of lopi sweaters and wool.
Day 2 (September 29, 2025): In the morning, Hélène will pick us up at the guesthouse and then we’ll head out for a knitting adventure and drive to our charming guesthouse, an isolated farm at the foot of a mountain, with different animals, a family of elves and an outdoor hot tub. We will stay there for the next two nights. En route we will stop at various places in the Borgarfjörður region that are of interest to all knitters, spinners, dyers and wool lovers: plant-dyed and handspun yarns, friendly rare cashmere goats, amazing wool, you won’t be disappointed! We will also do a little bit of sightseeing and admire the vibrant autumn colors. Towards reaching our guesthouse, those who wish can also walk up a little volcanic crater. Picnic lunch enroute and delicious dinner on the premises.
Day 3 (September 30, 2025): The day will be spent doing a knitting workshop with Hélène. The early afternoon is open for little walks around the farm, picking up blueberries, petting the animals, relaxing in the hot tub or just knitting in peace, all with an extensive view on the amazing landscape! Gourmet lunch and dinner with products from the farm and homegrown vegetables.
Day 4 (October 1, 2025): This will be a busy day as we continue our journey further North. We will visit the Glaumbær Turf Farm Museum and crafters from the area in the beautiful fjord of Skagafjörður. We will spent the next two nights in the old part of the village of Blönduós. Lunch enroute and truly delightful dinner at our guesthouse with a breathtaking view on the seashore.
Day 5 (October 2, 2025): Today is all about knitting and we will get to visit the Textile Museum in Blönduós and admire the fabulous collection of knitting, representative of the many Icelandic knitting traditions. We will even be allowed to touch the artefacts! We will also visit the Textile center and the Ístex scouring mill. Exquisite meals on premises from our local chef.
Day 6 (October 3, 2025): Now is time to return to Reykjavík with a few woolly stops, such as the visit of the Ístex mill where the famous unspun lopi is made. We will end our journey at Hélène’s knitting studio in the old Reykjavík. It will then be time to say good-bye and enjoy a last free evening in the city.
Day 7 (October 4, 2025): Departure.
KNITTING WORKSHOP
THE TRADITIONAL ICELANDIC LOPI SWEATER
A bit of history: the emergence of the lopi sweater: Hélène will tell us about the Icelandic knitting traditions with a focus on the youngest tradition- the Icelandic lopi yoke sweater, that has become the most prominent representation of Icelandic knitting today. It is however a fairly recent invention probably dating back to the 50’s and that became immensely popular in the 70’s. Hélène will show us a few genuine samples and will share with us stories from elderly knitters she has been interviewing in the past years.
Icelandic wool: Hélène will tell us about the different types of Icelandic wool and the genesis of the famous unspun lopi and we will experience the feeling of knitting with this highly breakable yarn.
Traditional Icelandic lopi sweater: We will knit a doll size traditional sweater with all the elements of an adult one. Special attention will be given to the color yoke.
Shaping your lopi sweater: The Icelandic lopapeysa is traditionally fairly square in shape and has no front or back. We will see many different ways to create a scooped neckline and to add shaping to the sweater for a better and more refined fit, both for women and men, as well as how to alter existing patterns. We will also discover an old method allowing to conveniently knit the sleeves from the top down while achieving a perfect fit.
Steeking your lopi sweater workshop: Lopi sweaters are always knit in the round then simply steeked (cut into the finished knitting) to make them into cardigans. Typically, an Icelandic knitter would much rather steek a garment than bother working it back and forth and purling, especially if colorwork is involved. We will try our hands at the traditional ways and compare them with other methods. We will also see different ways to finish our steeks once cut.
Finishing your lopi sweater workshop: “The knitting is only half of the work” said grand-mother Olga Hallgrímsdóttir. Finishing a garment is indeed just as important as the knitting: we will learn all sorts of finishing techniques, for example how to make crochet edging, vertical or horizontal button bands, sew in a zipper, and how to care for your brand new lopi sweater.
| Túngumál | á ensku, á frönsku, á íslensku |
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