My cousin, Vala, recently came in to town from Reykjavik, Iceland and brought a few skeins of Lopi yarn that I had never used before. It is called AlafossLopi, and yes, it is the itchy kind that Icelandic sheep are so famous for producing but I decided to make one of my bunnies out of it anyway. The yarn was just too beautiful not to. Besides, Vala informed me that Lopi yarn can be softened up quite a bit with a warm wash in the gentle cycle. With this in mind, I began my project.
The yarn...
Almost done, one ear to go, then into the gentle cycle.
I couldn't wait to wash this bunny. Washing and pressing hand-knit projects is very common in Iceland. Most projects are not considered finished until they have at least been pressed. And I could not wait to see just how much this yarn would soften up.
After the wash...even softer (and bigger!) than I had hoped for...soft enough (and big enough!) to snuggle with.
I am thrilled with the end result of this project...Vala was right, washing the Lopi made all the difference. Although this bunny is not quite as soft as my Kambgarn bunnies, it is much, much softer after washing. I adore the look and feel of this yarn and I love that the bunny is significantly bigger. I will be placing an order of AlafossLopi, straight away.
The size difference. (Left: Lopi, Right: Kambgarn)
The Lopi bunny will be available on my Etsy page this afternoon. P.S. I am offering free shipping on all my bunnies, now through the end of March. Just enter the code "bunny77" in the coupon code box when you check out.