Dale of Norway Valle Cardigan Sweater - New Wool (For Men)

Amazing quality and helps to keep my boyfriend warm in the colder Wyoming months. It's definitely true-to-size and is constructed very well. He will get many years of use out of this wonderful Dale of Norway piece!

First, the good: these sweaters are heavy and warm. Size XXL weighs 2 lbs. 6 oz., which definitely cuts the chill in a drafty office. By comparison, my Melton wool peacoat weighs just 1 1/4 pounds more. The shawl collar keeps body heat from escaping upward, which complements the coziness of the peacoat nicely. The sweater also looks sharp with a shirt and tie underneath.

That being said, one must understand that a 100% wool sweater with knit patterns requires special care. To get the patterns on the outside, the knitter must stitch differently colored yarns into the sweater, which results in loops of yarn being created on the inside of the sweater. Ideally, the loops should be 1" or less in length and flush with the inside of the sweater. Even given this, you must take special care of the sweater to preserve the look (hand wash inside out in cold water, press the sweater gently between dry towels, and allow the sweater to dry flat). Also, when you put on the sweater, you must be careful not to hook the loops with your fingers. These care requirements are arguably part of the charm of wearing such a sweater, and the sweater can last a long time if you fulfill these requirements, but that's what you need to do in the best case.

Unfortunately, the sweaters that I received have actual flaws, which I didn't expect. One of the sweaters actually has a dropped stitch near an armpit, which created a bit of a hole (albeit a hole that is easy not to see). The other sweaters have one or two loops of yarn that hang loose inside the sweater. Some of these loops are up to 6" long. I grant that the outsides of these other sweaters look fine, and that it's possible that these sorts of errors are typical on sweaters that are made with heavyweight multi-ply yarn, but I was surprised to see these sorts of errors. I own a sweater-knit Dale of Norway Vintage Hat with a bunch of knitted patterns in it, and the hat is pretty near perfect inside. I'll probably keep all the sweaters except for the one with the hole in it, and I might keep that one too if I can figure out a way to fix it without too much trouble. I'm just a little disappointed that these sweaters aren't as perfect out of the box as my hat was.