My Favourite Men’s Lopi Sweater Patterns

Even if you’re not planning to knit one, men’s lopi sweater patterns make for some nice viewing. Handsome knitwear models wearing traditional Icelandic designs and looking cozy? Yes please, I need that in my life. 

I haven’t knit Jesse a jumper before because of the boyfriend sweater superstition. I do believe there’s some truth to this superstition. As I mentioned in my original post on the boyfriend sweater curse, the scarf I crocheted him when we were first dating almost destroyed our nascent relationship. I’m glad I stuck with him, despite the miles of grey yarn. 

Now Jesse and I are finally married, I get to knit him a sweater! And it’s going to be a lopi.

Jesse often wears a rustic, chunky cabled pullover we bought in Scotland. And he also wears a stranded colourwork pullover from a chain store he calls his “Christmas sweater.” I showed him patterns in both styles, and all were rejected.

“I think I like that grey one with the pattern you knit,” he said. Which one? “With the colours.” A lopi! 

Good choice, Jesse, I like that sweater too.

Lopis are Icelandic garments, made from Icelandic yarn. They’re knit from the bottom up, and have a distinctive patterned yoke. Save for some shaping, women and men’s lopi sweater patterns are identical, which opens up a whole world of his-and-her outfit possibilities. The lopi yarn is hairy and soft. Like the sheep it grew on, lopi has long outer fibres which are water resistant, and soft inner ones, which are insulating. It can be a little scratchy, but it’s wonderfully light, breathable and warm.

I dug through Ravelry, and put together a pinterest board of men’s lopi sweater patterns.  Jesse responded almost immediately with his favourites.

Ás: a bright and modern lopi

Ás is a bright lopi looks unlike any other in the genre. It doesn’t have very many projects on Rav yet though, so it’s not my first choice. Does anyone else do this too? With bigger or complex knits, I check the “Projects” tab and see what other people have made, if there’s any issues or hints.

Spearheads: a bulky and distinctive sweater 

His next choice was Spearheads. I added this to the short list because it’s more “graphic” than a “traditional” but whoops – it’s knit in bulky yarn, which would be less wearable. I want to make a layering piece, not an outer garment.

Grettir: a modern twist on traditional men’s lopi sweater patterns

Finally, he picked Grettir by Jared Flood. It has a ton of projects already knit (including in the traditional lopi yarn, not the yarn the pattern suggests) and all the comments say things like “great pattern, very well written.” Sorry, Ás, Grettir wins this round.

Next up is yarn shopping – and colour choices! I know I want to use Léttlopi, which I will probably buy from this store I’ve used before. I’ve asked Jesse to pick the main body colour, and have been building palettes around it for yoke options. After going back and forth on greens for a while, it sounds like he’s leaning more towards the greys.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress – and I have a lot of other plans in the works which I can’t wait to show you!