About

Hi — I'm Edda, the brain and the hands behind Yrja Knit. I design knitting patterns in Iceland. Welcome to my shop.

I have an ingrained need to make things. Sometimes just for the sake of making. Arrange, alter, improve, build. See what happens. Work it out. I grew up surrounded by craftspeople and artists, and hard working people who were never idle, and I've tried most of the outlets for it: Sewing clothes and knitting since I was a teenager, drawing and painting, making jewelry, the occasional piece of furniture.

Knitting has taken over in recent years, for practical reasons as much as anything. You can knit almost anywhere, and it doesn't require taking over the house (though that does happen) or renting a studio across town. It's a craft that fits alongside a full-time job.

I started Yrja properly in February 2022 and opened the shop with a handful of patterns in Icelandic. New ones have been added steadily since, and English translations added, in whatever room the rest of life leaves.

Designs and patterns

Knitting takes time, and I want that time to be well spent. So when I write a pattern, I'm designing something meant to last — classic shapes, often with texture, and details worth the work they take. There's steady demand for lopapeysur in my house, so those have their place too. Well-cut garments made to be worn for years are my answer to fast fashion and the buy-and-discard habit that comes with it. I don't design anything I wouldn't wear myself or put on the people close to me, and I choose yarn carefully — I´m no fan of synthetics, nothing of uncertain origin.

Most of my patterns are largely seamless. They come in six to eight adult sizes, baby sizes from 0–3 months to two years, and children's sizes from two to twelve years, sometimes fourteen. I write the instructions out in full, and link to explanations and videos for the techniques that need them. The names aren't arbitrary either — most of them come from Icelandic history, mythology, or the landscape.

Iceland's weather and landscape are an endless source of ideas, but so are people, places, and whatever happens to be in the air. In good times and hard ones I've felt all the side effects knitting is supposed to have: it's good for the nervous system and good for the soul. A complicated chart wakes the brain up; a simple pattern leaves room for quiet, or for company and conversation — or for watching TV, which is also allowed. And there's a particular pleasure, still new to me, in passing someone on the street in a sweater knitted from one of my patterns.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find something here that makes you want to pick up your needles, spend a good hour, and make something warm for yourself or for someone you love.

Edda Andrésdóttir