Now that I’ve assembled a big collection of sweaters (all 100% wool or cashmere), it’s time to rank them:
NOTE: not all sweaters below are present in the cover image
1. SNS Herning Stark Cardigan
I bought the SNS Herning Stark Cardigan used on Grailed in 2020. I had known about this sweater for a while and wanted to buy it, but the price new was high enough to put me off. Given that nice wool sweaters are supposed to be long lasting, I felt a used one should still have many years of use left.
SNS Herning is a Danish company founded in 1919 with many classic designs remaining unchanged over several decades, but still with unique knit textures. While many of my sweaters were bought in their countries of origin, I bought this online from someone who lived in Australia. However, I have at least been to Denmark, though 3 years before my sweater phase.
Construction: 5/5 | Warmth/Adjustability: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5 | Fashion: 4/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 4.8)
This cardigan is a beautifully made piece of clothing with an intricate textural pattern, sturdy hems and cuffs, and thick metal buttons. The picture makes it look grey, but in reality, it’s a dark, almost military, grey-green color. It may not be hand knit, but the design and company still have a lot of heritage, with this specific design being made since 1971. The knitting itself is tightly done, making it feel pretty much impervious to pilling, but still extemely smooth to the touch. No concerns about itchiness here at all!
I’m also generally a big fan of sweaters with buttons. For sweaters this heavy and warm, it’s always nice to have some front opening to keep them versatile for indoors wear, but full zips can end up buckling since they don’t stretch or compress with the fabric.
Fitwise, this was definitely made for lanky Danish men. This means a much more slim fit on the torso and extra long sleeves. I personally enjoyed this because I find many cardigans to be pretty boxy, and many sweaters I’ve tried have been slightly too short in the sleeves. Perhaps I just have extra long arms.
The main issue I have with this sweater is that when I wear it unbuttoned, it settles in a way where the collar is fairly closed, but the bottom is fairly open, almost like a cape. I end up wearing it more often buttoned or semi buttoned as a result, but especially when sitting, this is not bad.
2. The Handknitting Association of Iceland
I bought this sweater during a trip to Iceland in 2023. From what I could tell, the Handknitting Association was the store in Reykjavik with the most “authentic” sweaters in that they used wool from Icelandic sheep, spun into yarn in Iceland, and handknit by an Icelandic person in Iceland. They were fairly pricey, but the cheaper options were often either not handknit or handknit in a different country even if they used Icelandic wool. I decided to splurge and go authentic!
Construction: 5/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 5/5 | Fashion: 4/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 4.6)
The sweater has a beautiful earthy design which is much more restrained than most Icelandic sweater designs color-wise. The bottom 2/3s are made of a dark green wool with flecks of blue, orange, and brown, and the top third is made of a solid light green.
This sweater feels much lighter and fluffier than the SNS Herning one. Normally I’d consider that cause for concern, as loosely knitting could be more inclined towards pilling. However in this case, the lightweightness is largely the result of handknitting; when handknitting, you can knit tighter or looser with more nuance than in machine knitting, allowing for a looser but still sturdy overall knit. In addition, you can use an unspun yarn, which makes the yarn fluffier so it fills gaps to increase wind resistance. Also, Icelandic sheep make uniquely durable fibers, so pilling hasn’t been an issue so far!
The fact that this sweater is so lightweight but still sturdy makes it easy to wear often and casually. I find myself wearing it more often than any others when at home. While the yarn does have some thick fibers, it feels stretchy and spongy(?) in just the right way to avoid any obvious itchiness.
The biggest issue with this sweater is that the arms are just a bit shorter than ideal. They’re also quite wide, so when I do my first wash, I’ll see if I can stretch them like I successfully did for my handknit Aran sweater (see below). If so, then this sweater’s fit would be perfect. That being said, I still think my SNS Herning sweater would be rank 1 for out of the house and this would be rank 1 for in it (and rank 2 or 3 for out).
3. Dale of Norway Quarter Zip
I bought this sweater in early 2019 during an internship in Norway because I felt it was the right sort of thing to buy as a souvenir. Little did I realize it’d start my love affair with wool knitwear! Due to this, it’ll always hold a fond place in my heart, but I tried to be objective in my ranking. Despite the many sweaters I’ve obtained since, it has held up well!
Construction: 4/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5 | Fashion: 4/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 4.6)
This sweater is machine knit like the SNS Herning one, and like that, it has a relatively dense and smooth texture. Also similar to that one, the fabric is super stretchy and comfortable! It was actually a bit itchy when I bought it, but that has smoothed out over time, and now it is very comfortable.
This one beats the iceland sweater for temperature adjustability because the quarter zip is surprisingly effective at venting heat when unzipped. I also prefer this to a full zip because full zips can often buckle when used in knitwear.
This sweater has a great It Factor as evidenced by the number of compliments I get on it. The knit is richly colorful and sharply patterned in a way that stands out from the rest of my collection, but still avoids being garish. When I bought it initially, it actually seemed dull in comparison to its neighbors, but at home, it’s perfect. I did dock a point for fashion though because the colors do feel a bit seasonal and holiday-esque, though I’ll happily wear it all winter.
This sweater lost a point for construction for two reasons. First: while it is objectively super solid, it’s not handknit like the Iceland one or 3d patterned like the SNS Herning one. Second: the knit pattern was created with red and white yarn in a way where the yarn is not attached to the base fabric between places where it’s used. This leaves loops where your fingers could get stuck and tug on the yarn if you’re not careful when putting it on. Overall this has not been a big issue, but worth considering.
4. Bosie of Scotland turtleneck
I bought this sweater online because my cousin was buying one from the same site, and we wanted to split shipping cost. This is my first Scottish knit, though there aren’t super distinguishing factors in the pattern or construction. The yarn is locally spun Shetland wool, and the sweater is machine knit locally. The knitting company itself has been around since 1929!
Construction: 4/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 4/5 | Fashion: 5/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 4.4)
Similar to the Icelandic sweater, this one has a more loose and fluffy feeling than the SNS Herning or Dale of Norway sweaters. However in this case, it’s also machine knit, so I think it ends up feeling a little less solid construction-wise compared to the above three. The other lost points for Warmth/Adjustability and Comfort come from the fact that this is a turtleneck. When worn inside, the turtleneck can end up feeling especially warm, and with no buttons or zip, somewhat inflexible.
However, this sweater truly is a statement piece. The stark white coloration and turtleneck give it a beautiful and dramatic appearance. Plus, the construction is still far better than most sweaters I’ve seen, even if a point below the ones above. The sweater is quite warm per weight, and when worn with a wind layer, can keep me warm on the coldest of days.
5. Handknit(?) Irish Aran Sweater
This sweater was a lucky find at a vintage shop in Cambridge, UK. According to the tag at the shop, the sweater was handknit in the 1980s, which seems believable given the lack of a tag. The sweater is 100% wool and knit with Irish Aran patterns of incredible depth. I loved it when I first saw it, but decided to wait until after lunch to decide if I really wanted it (I did). When I bought it, I actually didn’t realize that it was initially inside out until I brought it back home to NYC! Then I realized the patterns were even more rich than I had thought.
Construction: 5/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 3/5 | Fashion: 4/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 4.2)
This sweater has some serious cred (assuming it IS actually handknit), and is a beautiful piece of intricate knitwear. However in actual wear, the sweater ends up feeling a little bulkier than ideal, making it lose a point for fashion. The bulkiness, lack of any form of opening, and stiff/itchy is also why it loses a point on Warmth/Adjustability and for Comfort. However, the stiff/itchy wool definitely makes it feel like it’ll hold up to wear.
One other issue I had when I first bought it was that the sleeves were a bit short. This seems to be a semi-common problem with sweaters I’ve tried on, so I mahy just have longer arms than average. I eventually ended up successfully extending them by soaking them in water, heating them with an iron, then holding them in a stretched state using dumbells. This ended up stretching the sleeves by 2-3 inches right away, which shrunk back to a 1-2 inch permanent increase! I want to try the same with my Iceland sweater to address the biggest issue with it.
6. Vintage Saks Fifth Ave Shawlneck
I bought this sweater at a vintage shop in Texas of all places! I can’t imagine why someone brought such a warm sweater to Texas of all places, but that might explain why it ended up in a vintage shop. It wasn’t super cheap, but I felt it was very worth it for reasons explained below.
Construction: 4/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 5/5 | Fashion: 4/5 | It Factor: 4/5 | (avg 4.2)
This sweater is super thick and warm, but interestingly, is made from 100% merino wool! Usually merino wool sweaters tend to be thinner because merino wool is both more warm and expensive per weight compared to ordinary wool (generally true for finer fiber wools). The sweater is Saks Fifth Ave brand, which is fairly fancy, so I could believe that they just made an extremely luxe and heavy merino wool sweater. However, I have an alternate hypothesis I believe in more.
The sweater’s tag identifies it as XL, but it fits me, and I am a generally M guy. Perhaps it was first created as a thinner XL sweater, but was washed improperly so it shrunk. In addition to the fabric being thick, it also is very dense. This could also be a sign of shrinkage! As a bonus, that makes it a bit more windproof.
Because this sweater is 100% merino, despite being well fit, it is extremely soft. Plus, because of the thickness, I don’t feel too concerned about wearing it down like I would for thinner merino sweaters. This sweater would end up getting a ton of use, but I’ve left it in MN at my parents’ home because I need at least 1 nice sweater for when I’m there! As a result, I see it once in a while, but wear it consistently when I do.
7. Baby Alpaca Full Zip
This sweater was the second one purchased on this list after my Norwegian sweater. I was in Peru as part of my college grad trip, and decided to continue my pattern of getting sweaters as souvenirs.
Construction: 4/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 5/5
Comfort: 4/5 | Fashion: 3/5 | It Factor: 4/5 | (avg 4.0)
The sweater is knit from pure baby alpaca wool, and the yarn has a very rich blue-green jewel tone that does not properly come across in photos. When I first saw it, I fell in love with the color as well as the fact that it’s full zip, as apart from my Norwegian quarter zip, I was in the habit of wearing full zip hoodies often.
After I started wearing this sweater more, I realized why full zippers were uncommon in knitwear. Knit fabric is inherently much stretchier than woven fabric, which itself is much stretchier than a zipper. As a result, the zipper can bend and buckle if the knit fabric is scrunched up or shrinks.
Because of the zipper buckling, this ended up losing points across several categories. It also lost a point on comfort as the sweater is fairly fitted, and this ends up making certain parts feel itchier. However, it’s still a beautiful sweater overall!
8. Bonobos Cashmere Waffle Knit
I bought this sweater at a sample sale in NYC where a bunch of Bonobos clothes were being sold at a huge discount. I was running my fingers along the rack of knitwear and immediately noticed one stuck out as extra soft. I pulled out this waffle knit and saw it was made from 100% cashmere and for $22! There were 3 left, so I picked them up and started messaging friends to see who might want the others until I finally surrendered one to a shopper following me around the store.
Construction: 3/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 4/5 | Fashion: 5/5 | It Factor: 4/5 | (avg 4.0)
This sweater is insanely comfortable (as cashmere tends to be), but it loses a point on comfort based on my comfort wearing it and not worrying. Because cashmere is made from thin fibers, it’s much more susceptible to pilling, so I try to only wear this for special occasions. In particular, I’d never wear it as my outermost layer if I’d be carrying a backpack.
This sweater scores high on Fashion for its bright color and fun texture, but loses a point on It Factor and two on Construction largely because it isn’t as “solid” or “exciting” as some of the more unusual suspects above. As a result, I would definitely not have bought this at full retail price (near $200), but for the price I paid, it’s amazing! It is well-fitting, extremely soft, and looks beautiful.
9. United Colors of Benetton Turtleneck
I bought this sweater during a trip to Milan with Neha. Given Milan’s reputation for fashion, we both wanted to buy some article of clothing while here. I looked at a variety of things, but unsurprisingly gravitated back towards wool sweaters. This (and Neha’s) was bought from an Italy-based chain store which meant very reasonable prices but also fun fashion looks!
Construction: 3/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 3/5
Comfort: 4/5 | Fashion: 5/5 | It Factor: 4/5 | (avg 3.8)
This sweater is a baseline a grey turtleneck, but has two interesting features. First, there are a series of buttons along the side of the turtleneck going along the shoulder. Second, the actual color of the fabric up close actually ends up being a mix of a bunch of brighter colors then end up looking grey from a distance.
This sweater is definitely not at the same level of construction as most above. Also, the turtleneck, while fashionable, does take away a bit from Comfort and more from Warmth Adjustability. However, it’s still a great looking 100% wool sweater with some unique characteristics! Especially because this sweater is lighterweight than most of my higher ranked ones, it ends up getting a lot of use in the fall/spring.
10. Souwest Chunkies Chunky Sweater
This one has be best story of all sweaters, so I’ll just link the post where I told it in much detail.
Construction: 5/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 3/5
Comfort: 2/5 | Fashion: 3/5 | It Factor: 5/5 | (avg 3.6)
It absolutely pains me to rank this magnificent sweater so low. However, I think this ranking does reflect the wearability and frequency of wear. This sweater is by far the chunkiest sweater I’ve ever seen, it’s nearly 5lbs of hard wearing wool! This sweater will likely outlive me and the rest of my descendents.
However, the heavy weight and roughness of the wool do end up impacting the comfort fairly severely. I don’t mind the itchiness too much, but this would likely disqualify it for a majority of people. Plus, it gets too warm fairly easily, lowering score for Warmth/Adjustability. On the other hand, it does feel like the best combination of a weighted blanked and a fluffy suit of armor, so that does count a bit for comfort.
The Fashion suffers a bit for the chunkiness, but the same factor really sets the It Factor to the max! If I could score this a 10/5 on this category, I would, but that would end up pushing this too high on average ranking for how often I wear it. I love this sweater as a piece of art, but it is a true example of how chunky too chunky is for a sweater.
11. Barneys New York Cashmere Quarter Zip
I bought this sweater in an outdoor market from a thrift stall soon after I moved to NYC after college. This was my first cashmere I bought, which was a large reason why I was excited to get it!
Construction: 3/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 5/5
Comfort: 4/5 | Fashion: 2/5 | It Factor: 3/5 (avg 3.4)
This sweater is extremely soft as cashmere tends to be, but also delicate (same comfort as Bonobos cashmere). It also is nice on Warmth/Adjustability as the quarter zip allows some venting heat. However, it loses some points on Fashion and It Factor since it’s just a blue quarter zip, which is about as boring as it gets. It does get some points for the fact that Barneys is a department store with a lot of history!
This sweater doesn’t get a lot of wear because I’d usually prefer to wear the Bonobos sweater if I’m going to wear cashmere.
12. Banana Republic merino full zip
This sweater was bought from an outlet sale years before everything else on the list. I was actually unsure about including it, but it is 100% merino wool. Plus, it’s a nice enough sweater objectively, so it serves as a nice yardstick for how nice all of the above sweaters are!
Construction: 3/5 | Warmth\Adjustability: 4/5
Comfort: 5/5 | Fashion: 2/5 | It Factor: 2/5 (avg 3.2)
This sweater suffers the same issues around zippers as the Alpaca sweater above. Zippers in knitwear end up buckling based on how the knit stretches and compresses, so the sweater never quite sits perfectly. However, the merino wool is soft enough for great comfort, and while the sweater is thin enough to not be too warm, it’s at least very adjustable with the zipper!
Past Members (unranked)
Purple cable knit sweater
During the same trip when I bought the handknit Irish Aran sweater, I also bought this purple Aran sweater! It was ~$10, 100% wool, and knit in the most wonderful purple color. However, it was extremely wide. I decided to use it as an experiment in shrinking and shaping a sweater. I ended up overdoing it and felting the fabric considerably along with shrinking the length too much, even though the width ended up being good.
This lead to round 2 of experimentation: I resoaked it in warm water, then tried stretching it vertically with weight. This ended up roughly fixing the proportions, but it still was slightly odd in parts. Eventually I ended up donating it when someone in a neighborhood free/for-sale FB group asked for wool sweaters. It was a fun experiment, but the final product wasn’t something I’d end up wearing much simply because of all the other wonderful sweaters I have!