1. From the Icelandic country side to international catwalks
The Icelandic Sheep
From the Icelandic country side to
international catwalks
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2. About the Icelandic Sheep
The Icelandic sheep are direct descendants of the sheep brought here by the settlers in the 9th century. They are a unique breed, carrying characteristics long disappeared from their relatives on the continent.
Through generations they have developed into the modern Icelandic sheep with its particular variation to adapt to the Icelandic weather. 
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3. The Icelandic sheep‘ wool
The Icelandic sheep’ wool is made up of two layers which makes it warm, waterproof and temperate:
“Tog”, long and rough hair, sometimes a little bit curly. It works in a similar way to an overcoat and repels water.
„Þel“, shorter, softer and fluffier hairs, making them perfect for insulation.
Icelandic wool comes in as many colours as there are sheep. The most common ones are black, white, with various shades of brown and grey rounding out the selection.  
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4. Wool processing in the past
In the 18th and 19th century, the work consisted of sorting the wool and other processes before the threads were ready and of course everything was made by hand.
The wool was sorted by colours, type and quality.  
It was washed in a liquid called “Keyta“, urine that was collected during the whole year. 
The wool was combed and at last the thread was made.
The thread was spun on a spinning wheel called “rokkur”
then the thread was either knitted or woven into a fabric.  
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Rokkur

5. Garðaskóli - Natalía, Hrefna, Tómas Máni, Birna and Benedikta Ýr
Lopi
During the 1920s, new and faster methods of wool production were invented and the lopi was born. Lopi (the word originally meaning unspun wool) consists of the two layers mixed together, producing a thread that’s light and warm, but also tough and waterproof.
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6. Garðaskóli - Natalía, Hrefna, Tómas Máni, Birna and Benedikta Ýr
Lopi is self-cleaning
Lopi needs to be hand-washed, but luckily, it almost never needs to be washed due to the structure of the hair fibres. Bacteria doesn’t stick to wool like it does to cotton or synthetic materials. The only times you need to wash your wool garments is when they get stained (which is rare, since they’re also mostly waterproof). Otherwise, airing them out will usually do the trick. The most popular wool garment in Iceland is the Lopapeysa.
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Lopapeysa

7. The Icelandic woolen industry today
Nowadays the Icelandic wool is machine processed in special wool factories.
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8. Variety of products in modern Icelandic wool industry
New variations have come about with advances in the manufacturing process and new techniques in handling wool have been developed:  
The wool is coloured in all the colours of the spectrum . 
There are many different production lines, e.g. all kinds of yarn goods.  
Clothes are made from 100% wool or the thread/fabric is mixed from wool and some other material.  
The wool is used in the arts like in
tapestries and various types of embroideries.
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9. The Icelandic wool in fashion
With the development of production technology, the increasing global interest in Iceland and the Icelandic wool, Icelandic woollen products are becoming international fashion items.
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10. Some of Iceland‘s wool manufacturers
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11. Garðaskóli - Natalía, Hrefna, Tómas Máni, Birna and Benedikta Ýr
Thank you
Garðaskóli - Natalía, Hrefna, Tómas Máni, Birna and Benedikta Ýr