What will I need?
Well, you're going to need some fat needles for starters! 7mm as a minimum, but I'd recommend 8mm. These are chunky sweaters knitted out of oily, natural wool.
Speaking of wool, you're going to need some of this… This is Sirri "viking yarn", a natural product, spun from natural carded wool taken from Faroese Sheep. This is the exact same wool used by Gudrun & Gudrun, Kurla and indeed Sirri themselves for the Faroese jumpers shown on our buy one page.
Famed for it's light weight, water and wind resistance and natural anti-bacterial properties. A sweater knitted from this stuff, cared for properly, can be worn all winter, with minimal washing. It is light weight, yet incredibly warm. The wool is available in 5 colours only - the natural colours of the sheep: white, light grey, dark grey, light brown and dark brown.
The wool is available in 3 weights: 1ply, 2ply and 3ply - for a jumper you're going to need the 3 ply, which comes in at 200m per 100 gram hank. For a pattern like the Sarah Lund sweater, you'll need 3-4 hanks of the base colour, and one of the pattern colour. Hanks cost about £5.20 each (plus postage)
PLEASE NOTE! The pattern given in Emma Kennedy's book does not use Sirri wool - she suggests a lighter Merino wool, knitted on smaller needles (size 5). I've asked the pattern author if she would kindly suggest how one might knit it differently with bigger needles.BUY YARN