Inspiration
Plotulopi: A Whole Nother Kind of Yarn
Wondering what all the Plotulopi fuss is about?
Well, we’re up here on the Icelandic Yarn Bandwagon. Come climb on!
For us, this is what knitting is all about: discovering new materials, adding to our knowledge, finding fun.
Plotulopi is beloved by knitters in Iceland. Plotulopi is unspun roving, wound into flat plates. It is quite remarkable for the way it creates airy yet warm fabrics. It takes a minute to get the hang of knitting with it—it will separate if you yank on it—but it also can be reconnected simply by rubbing the ends together. Not Yanking comes easily after a little while.
This is definitely one of those “try it, you’ll like it” situations.
We’ve got the perfect pattern that lets you experiment with Plotulopi: Reindeer Moss Mittens.
So lovely, Hélène Magnússon’s new design in Field Guide No. 26: Moss.
Two plates of Plotulopi are all you need to make these extraordinary mittens. We just brought in a bunch of colors, so you can go subtle or bonkers as you like.
The stranded colorwork, done with Plotulopi, creates mittens that are uncommonly light and warm. And the design is so sweet, a nod to the reindeer moss that appears in the Icelandic landscape.
Excellent for wearing while in Iceland or dreaming about Iceland.
How prickly is this yarn? Hand are very sensitve, especially wrists.
Icelanders seem to like it. 🙂
I’ve been wearing the mittens in the office a bit, not a full-on Iditarod sled race to the North Pole or anything, but they’re fine to me and I am extremely tender skinned. It’s so subjective, the question of softness.
Ann, I love that you said “whole nother”—another one of our southern expressions!
I made a cardigan out of this a few years ago. Just rubbed my wrist against it, and didn’t seem prickly. My neck is sensitive, though, and I think it would bother me there, but I always wear something under it. Perhaps you could knit a double cuff with softer, thinner yarn that folds to the inside? It really is incredible yarn.
For the sensitive neck area, I’ve done exactly that – knit what I think of as a turned facing (folded to the inside) with similarly colored, same weight smooth cotton yarn. Works very well!
I’ve found it almost impossible to frog because it separates so easily.
Idea: Maybe you could sell swatch size samples so we could try it and see if it’s something we would like to work with. Of course….with shipping so expensive this might not be workable.
Oh how I wish it was possible for yarn companies to make and sell swatch size samples of most of their yarns. But I guess it’s not practical or they would have done it already. I would be a swatch queen.
Oh, how I wish shipping weren’t so expensive. It’s a plague for small businesses who can’t compete with giant online companies.
We were in Iceland over New Year’s. I recommend wearing mittens that have two layers of yarn (i.e. colorwork, so these are perfect), and I recommend giving at least one of them the flippable end so that you can take pictures without having to take your mittens all the way off.
Lucky you, going to Iceland! And flippable mittens are so clever.
I’ve given in to those gorgeous pictures of the Moss Field Throw and ordered the bundle, hoping that pairing it with Love Story will make it a bit stronger to knit with. As for frogging … uh-oh, didn’t think of that! I do a fair bit of both tinking and frogging, so I’ll have to do some practicing on a big swatch first – or just knit without making any mistakes! Ha!
Hoping the garter stitch is an easy ride for you—the throw is all garter stitch.
I’ve knit with Plotulopi quite a bit, so I was curious to try knitting mittens with it—it seemed like it might be a bit of a feat. This pattern, however, uses the yarn held double, and this “double-ness” makes Plotulopi much stronger and therefore much easier to work with. I didn’t break the doubled yarn once as I worked. And I did frog it quite a bit, especially the first mitten. If you’re curious you should definitely go for it.
Yes! I forgot to mention the doubled yarn situation–thank you for mentioning it. And so happy you made these mittens! I’m still stuck on picking my two colors.
You could always marl and go for 4 colors- the 2 greens, 2 blues, orange and peach, etc for the background with charcoal and frosty grey or the medium grey and white for the reindeer. Why limit your choices? 😉
I just started my mittens last night. It is going to be a fun project! The biggest challenge so far was trying to find the center end to knit the two strands together. I persevered and finally found it. Four rounds down and looking forward to the long weekend for more.
I love a long weekend for knitting, it’s like a permission slip!
Can you knit with Plotulopi without adding another (stronger) yarn? Curious about using it for a vest?
I’ve made a sweater with one strand of plotulopi and really like it. It’s warm and weighs nothing. I think a two-strand sweater would be almost too warm indoors or for most U.S. weather (not talking to you, Minnesota). One modification I’d recommend is making the cuffs with two strands or adding another tougher yarn here. I had to reknit mine—but only after a good bit of wear.
I just made a sweater with a single strand of Plotulopi. I needed to be careful about tinking, but it was fine. The yarn would break every so often, but it wasn’t a problem, spit splice and you’re knitting again. I love my sweater, it’s so light and warm. I find it gets a little softer after washing. I don’t find it scratchy, but I like rustic yarn.
I’m knitting the Moss Field Throw and found that trying to fix a dropped stitch was tough. But I was able to frog back without much trouble. I love the fabric that is being created.
Also, I find Plotulopi softer than Lopi.
Thanks for the comparison to Lopi. I can’t deal with it but I love the Plotulopi patterns so I’ll give it a try. (Spell check really hates Plotulopi)
Jan, I can’t believe you ever dropped a stitch . . .
I think I am in love! I ordered yarn the day the link to Moss landed in my mailbox because the Crowberry Sweater took my breath away. But, I approached my latest “knitting date” with some baggage (my limited sweater experience and my yarn’s questionable reputation as a scratchy Icelandic yarn). I’m counting on Lorilee Beltman to get me over my lack of confidence! But, I also learned a lot from swatching and playing with the Plotulopi. As for the irritation factor, I found that it softened after washing my swatch- not to the point that I’ll be making a pillow case with any leftovers…but enough for me!
As for the delicacy of knitting with roving…..that’s where things got special for me! It didn’t take me very long to figure out that this is the first yarn that I’ve worked with that is truly interactive – not in the way that self-striping or color changing yarns are… no…this yarn needed my respect. It really wasn’t until yesterday, while watching my two grandkids ( 4 and 6) , that I understood how special ( dare I say magical) Plotulopi is! I brought Moss and a plath to show them what I was going to knit and how different the yarn was. The 6 year old has helped me wind before… two chairs facing out…Grandma in the front and Morgan bringing up the rear making sure the yarn clears the chairs, while singing yarn shanties! ( a process not recommended for the faint of heart or Type A thru B- personalities …but she did develop a feel for yarn!!) These two kids couldn’t understand how I could knit with a yarn that came apart if they gave it a hearty tug….until we played a game..around two fingers…to see who could wind the most without breaking the yarn…..(.after watching some Utubes of Iceland,Helene riding and walking , and their sheep and some general shearing and spinning videos),my little four-year-old grand had more patience then I have ever witnessed and won for the sheep!!!…..This is a yarn that wants respect… and will return the favor with warm .
It’s a couple of weeks into this Field Guide trimester… and I already have a sense of adventure , a sense of place ..and memories ready for a sweater! Hope there will be some synergy with recipes, music and humor ( hint hint DG, Sarah!)…..this is all kind of wonderful! Takk!
Love this, Maggie! Way to get young ones engaged, raise ’em right . . .
And what a good idea to dial up Helene’s videos. We’ll cook up a post with some links for folks to see. She’s so delightful.
DG should watch out…I loved your writing!!! Can just see you, the yarn, and your grands!
Blocking the yarn was magical and my grand thought the feel really changed. She will be 7 today…how did that happen so fast!!!
Perhaps this is a comment better for the Lounge but curious as to the type of needles and particularly which tip is working best for the Throw when holding Lose Story and Plotulopi together. I have done a little swatching with Addi Turbos and Turbo Lace but find I sometimes drop the Love Story. Tinking must be done very gently on the Plotulopi.
The Mittens are really a fun knit!!!
Would love to know more about everybody’s needle choices.
I knit an Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl (blanket size) out of plutolopi years ago and I used bamboo needles. It makes a warm, light blanket. Not scratchy.
I ordered the blanket kit from MDK and am eagerly awaiting my yarn. I plan to use my Tulip needles, or maybe Knitter’s Pride carbon needles.
I’d love to make the blanket, but has the kit has already sold out?? Is some brilliant person going to figure out how much yarn to buy to make a one section scarf/wrap? I could be appeased with that!
We’re waiting for a couple of the kit components to be restocked; we should have them available again sometime the first week of March.
If you’re not wedded to the pre-kitted colors, you could always make up your own using open stock of both Plotulopi and Love Story, though. The amounts you need of each are here – though of course, you’d be substituting some of the designated colors.
Of course it’s the clover green calling my name.
I want to make then mittens as fingerless mitts for work. I wear mitts all year switching to warmer ones in the colder months or when I’m working in the freezer area of the place I work. My question to Ann , are the mittens bulky to you? I wear my lettlopi mitts almost all year and love them.