Posted on by Tiana Atherton

Visual Inspiration and References 🧼🌊🐑

  • Rocks outside the Textile Lab
View of old Blönduós
  • Geocache in Reykjavik
Warp-weighted loom at National Museum in Reykjavik

Me and Levana’s handspun yarns drying after washing. We soaked in hot water and soap, rinsed several times then spun them in the washing machine. The rocks and other weights are used to stretch the yarns and even out kinks.

Woolwashing corner at the Textile Museum in Blönduós

“Pot for washing the wool. Urine was collected during the winter and then used to wash the wool. Water and urine was heated and the wool added to wash away dirt and natural oils. The picture above is of Sigurlaug Bjarnadóttir, washing wool at a lake called Hópið.”

Istex – Iceland’s largest wool washery

Who washes the washery? The machines are cleaned after every 4 shifts (usually every 2 days) in the Winter and every Friday in the Summer. They are hosed down with water and take about 2 hours to clean.

From the Textile Museum’s virtual exhibition “From Wool to Clothing”

Knitted soles at the Textile Museum (Blönduós) and Árnes (the oldest building in Skagaströnd)

  • From Ragga’s presentation on Icelandic Textiles
  • From Småvävar (a Swedish weaving book)
  • From the Textile Museum