Ralph Lauren has been the outfitter for the US Olympic team and Paralympic Team for years, and the company likes to use American-made fibers when it can. That’s why Oregon’s Shaniko Wool Company has once again been tapped to produce items for the team.
Shaniko Wool Company and its partner ranchers have been tending sheep continuously for more than 100 years, and this year they’ve provided wool for sweaters, mittens, hats and more for the Olympic teams. Shankio Wool also provided the wool that made the navy blazers worn by Team USA in the opening ceremony at the 2024 Paris Games.
The same family owns Imperial Stock Ranch, which supplied wool for uniforms in 2014 and 2018 as well.
For the opening ceremony Team USA uniforms included winter white toggle coats and trousers, as well as turtleneck sweaters with stranded knit patterns, an American flag and Olympic rings, all made with American wool yarn from the Shaniko Wool Company’s co-op of growers.
You can buy some of these items from the Team USA Shop, where the men’s toggle coat runs almost $2,000 an the opening ceremony Paralymics sweater is almost $700.
The earflap hat is a mere $327.99, but as you might imagine some intrepid knitters have already interpreted these classic designs for home knitters to make their own.
Mercy Crimm has a beanie worked in red, white and blue with the snowflake pattern from the Team USA hats. The pattern is a free download on Ravelry and it comes in three sizes. The motif is charted but it’s a pretty easy one to follow. The pattern uses worsted weight yarn.
Another free Ravelry download comes from Susan Rainey, whose intepretation of the hat is a little more literal. This one includes the ear flaps and tassels of the original, and is also worked in worsted weight yarn. It has four size options and is worked from the bottom up starting with the earflaps, with a chart for the colorwork. The designer calls the tassels “a little fussy,” but also notes they make the hat, and I agree.
Are you planning any special knitting while watching the Games this year? I’d love to hear about it!
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