Subscriber Exclusive
A Little Gift: Spin and Knit the Ultimate Icelandic Hiking Socks
With customized yarns for strength and softness, Barbara Kelly-Landry’s Ultimate Icelandic Hiking Socks have it all!
As someone who became a knitter before I started spinning, I have a drawer full of handknit socks. Yet, I’ve only made one pair of handspun socks. It’s not about the time invested. I don’t think anything of spending sixteen hours (or more!) knitting a pair of socks, and almost always have a pair on the needles. It might be about the wear and tear—out of all my knit garments, socks are the ones that wear out the fastest!
Barbara Kelly-Landry’s Ultimate Icelandic Hiking Socks have the answer. Kelly-Landry takes advantage of the dual coat of Icelandic sheep by separating the two types of fibers and using each to its greatest advantage. The tog, or outercoat, is long and strong–perfect for those areas of socks that tend to show wear more quickly, like the toe and heel. The thel, or innercoat, is soft and warm—perfect for the rest of the foot.
As someone who became a knitter before I started spinning, I have a drawer full of handknit socks. Yet, I’ve only made one pair of handspun socks. It’s not about the time invested. I don’t think anything of spending sixteen hours (or more!) knitting a pair of socks, and almost always have a pair on the needles. It might be about the wear and tear—out of all my knit garments, socks are the ones that wear out the fastest!
Barbara Kelly-Landry’s Ultimate Icelandic Hiking Socks have the answer. Kelly-Landry takes advantage of the dual coat of Icelandic sheep by separating the two types of fibers and using each to its greatest advantage. The tog, or outercoat, is long and strong–perfect for those areas of socks that tend to show wear more quickly, like the toe and heel. The thel, or innercoat, is soft and warm—perfect for the rest of the foot. [PAYWALL]
An Icelandic lock (left) can be easily pulled from each end to separate the longer hair (center) from the shorter, softer undercoat (right).
Luckily, these two types of fiber are easy to separate in an Icelandic fleece. Simply grasp each end of a lock in your hand, and tug. The long tog will easily separate from the short thel. You can also place the shorn edge of the lock on the teeth of a handcard or flicker and tug the tog away. The thel will remain on the carding cloth.
For this project, you don’t need to be concerned with dividing the fibers precisely. As Kelly-Landry notes: “you end up with tog that has some remaining thel, and vice versa, but we were satisfied that each batch of fiber was dominant in the characteristics we wanted for each yarn.”
Icelandic wool fiber, yarn, and knit swatches. The darker fibers are the tog, while the lighter fibers are the thel.
For maximum strength and durability, the tog is spun as a three-ply yarn, while the thel is spun as a two-ply for maximum comfort. These thick and comfortable socks promise to be the perfect hiking companion, and will be a staple of your handspun, handknit sock drawer for years to come. The pattern is written so that it is easy to unpick the heel section and re-knit it once it shows signs of wear—no darning needed!
Spin Off subscribers can access The Ultimate Icelandic Socks pattern and spinning notes in the Spin Off Library.
Ultimate Icelandic Socks pattern and spinning notes PDF
Head to the Library for the Ultimate Icelandic Socks pattern and spinning notes.
Resources
To learn more about double-coated sheep, be sure to check out Dr. Annamarie Hatcher's Spin Off Winter 2025 article, "Wool or Hair: Should Handspinners Care?"
Pamela K. Schultz is the content editor for Spin Off. She spins, weaves, knits, and gardens in coastal North Carolina.
