Sheep originally enabled people to survive in the harsh climate of the Faroe Islands, a small archipelago in the North Atlantic. In fact, Faroe Islands translates in Old Norse to “Sheep Islands.” Many modern citizens still farm sheep as an additional source of income and continuation of their cultural roots. Historically, the whole family would work together to process a fleece into yarn and then knit it into cozy, weather-resistant garments. The sheep’s meat was also an essential source of sustenance – having a sheep was a safeguard against both starvation and freezing. Faroese wool activist Sissal Kjartansdóttir Kristiansen put it best:

“You might as well shoot half the Faroese people if you say we can’t have sheep.”

However, in the modern era of mechanization and globalization, Faroese wool has been tragically devalued. The Faroe Islands have little infrastructure to process wool and no economic incentive for farmers to sell their fleeces. Most Faroese wool is actually burned after shearing! Additionally, local yarn and knitwear consumers tend to prefer softer yarn imported from Italian or South American sheep over coarser Faroese yarn.

Even though local wool is discarded in Faroese minds and bonfires, working with fiber is the foundation of national art and community. Knitting is still taught in school and most women learn how to knit early in childhood. As children grow up, important milestones are marked with knitting – their parents gift them a hand-knitted sweater on the first day of school, and teens form knitting circles to stay in touch with old friends when they graduate to a new school. Knitting circles continue to bring women together as they mature into mothers and grandmothers.

Notice the striking disconnect within Faroese wool. While fiber is economically devalued, it is culturally and socially central. Crucially, women are the artists and community members breathing life into Faroese fiber, bringing it into the forefront of the national culture.

The “Threads that Bind” headband is my tribute to the artistry of Faroese women that connects and defines their nation. I believe that their labor lays the groundwork for reforming local fiber systems. Much of the work I explored within Faroese agricultural sustainability and wool advocacy was fueled by female designers, scientists, and farmers. To create the design’s colorwork grid, I modified the traditional design of a Faroese line dance – but I replaced the men with sheep!

Size & fit
Fits a medium to large adult head (~ 54 cm). You can easily adjust your headband’s size by adding or subtracting pattern repeats.

Materials
Circular (or double-pointed) size US 4 / 3.5 mm needles
20 g / 50 m light worsted weight yarn in main color
20 g / 50 m light worsted weight yarn in background color
I used 3-threaded Snældan yarn in dusty rose (main) and dark brown (background).

Yarn gauge
31 sts x 25 rows = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4 in