One for the Men

I'm a bit late with today's contest, but better late than never! Today our theme is knitting for men, whether you are a man or whether you just like to make gifts for men.
The Prizes:
One copy of Alice Starmore's "Sweaters for Men" book and 3 skeins of Gjestal Naturegarn in a light heather grey, which is a single ply Lopi-type yarn that I used to make my "Cable Guy" felted slippers. 3 skeins is more than enough to make an extra large pair of slippers, or two pair of smaller slippers. The link to the pattern is in my sidebar.
The story behind this contest is that I already had a copy of this book, and found one for a really good price at the now-famous estate sale a month or so ago. I grabbed it anyway, figuring someone out there would undoubtedly like to have this book.

To Enter: Leave a comment to this post telling me about your experiences with knitting for men. Knitting for men can be tricky, so what have you made that has been particularly successful, or an abysmal failure? My success story was the Garter Aran from Tara Jon Mannings "Men in Knits," which turned out well and Dan loves it. Tell me your stories about knitting for men! The contest winner will be picked by random number generator on Monday, September 25 at 5 p.m. PST.

Comments

[Leslie]

My Christmas gift to my husband last year was a one size fits all shawl collared guernsay type sweater. I had a kilo of Alpaca and yardage wise should have been ok. After I finished the body, it was apparent the one size was a bit big for my husband. Also looked like it would be close on the yardage. So I washed the body to try and shrink it down, then finished the sleeves. Everything was all right, but still a bit big. My husband asked me to wash it again to shrink it a bit. When it came out of the wash (same wash treatment as before), the body (all the beautiful cables, and pattern) had felted, but the sleeves had not!

[Jen]

In 13 years of marriage, I had somehow not gleaned that my husband doesn't wear scarves. I think I believed it was just that he didn't bother acquiring one. Never occurred to me that he actually didn't like the bulk of wearing something wrapped around his neck.

Wish I'd figured that out before going to great lengths to knit him the Linux Penguin Illusion Scarf for Christmas last year! At least he understands knitting well enough to appreciate what I did.

[Cheryl]

My only really successful manly knits have been hats. I made a watch cap (this one: http://www.redlipstick.net/knit/martext.html) for Chris that he loves with an unholy passion. He wears it every single day from November to April. And I made it a few years ago out of Woolease so it's pilled terribly. I keep promising him I'll make him another, out of a nicer yarn, but I never do!

[rose]

Last year for Christmas I decided to knit my brother a pair of socks, before he went overseas for military duty. I asked him what his foot size was and he said 11.5 EEE, which is very wide. I naively thought that 2 skeins of Regia 6-ply would make a nice pair. They made a nice sock, which I knit on US0/2mm needles, having cast on 180 sts! I ran out of yarn, and had to buy some more. I found the same jacquard print, and ordered 3 balls. Only when I had to cast on over 200 sts did I realize that I'd ordered the same print in Regia 4-ply!

Anyways, I finished the socks before he was shipped overseas, and he told me they were warm enough, and he never noticed that there were 2 different gauges and types of yarn.

The next time I make men's socks, I'm going to use a thicker yarn. Like Cascade 220 superwash.

[Scribbles & Bits]

Goodness! Your contests are so generous! My first male knitting experience was also my first knitting experience at all. A friend of mine loves Harry Potter with a passion and was dying for a garnet and gold scarf (since he graduated from FSU, he felt it was doubly applicable). I wanted to learn how to knit and figured a simple striped scarf would be perfect. I cast on 50 stitches in Red Heart worsted weight acrylic on US size 3 needles. I knit and knit and knit for months and finally finished it for him. It was as wide as him and certainly as long. And it was surprisingly heavy. But he adored it and wore it as much as the weather would allow (which around here isn't much). Of course, not too long after that, he moved to Wisconsin, so it was perfect!

On the tragedy side, I knit a much better scarf for a friend in his fraternity colors (red, black, and white). I mailed it to him, but he never received it. *sigh*

[M-H]

I knitted a Starmore aran in Rowan Magpie for my son to keep him safe in London and he washed it in hot water. [sob] He was too scared to tell me for quite a while.

[Dave]

Successful? Hmm. Socks. Hats. Mitts. Slippers. Scarves. Afghan.
Unsuccessful? Hmm. Sweater. Sweaters are my nemesis. I don't know if it's because I don't know what suits me, or if I always think I'm bigger, or smaller, than I am, but I have yet to make a single successful sweater. I have come close to totally giving up, although I have two on the needles that have stalled because of ... fear of yucky. one of them just happens to be the same Garter Aran that you say was successful.

The thing that bugs me, though, is the dearth of patterns for men's sweaters. I find it ironic that women complain about the mags, both print and on-line, and how the sweaters are this, that and the other. I wonder what they would say if they had the choice of ... one. Oh well, there's always next year, right? ;-)

[trek]

I volunteered to knit my size 11 foot husband a pair of kilt hose. He wasn't interested. So I knit him a seaman's scarf out of 100% alpaca. He said it was itchy. We swapped that over to a Christmas present for his uncle and I knit him a new scarf out of Andean Silk. This one he likes but I wonder if we will have cold enough weather for him to actually wear it. Considering the wisdom of frogging and reknitting a lighter one...

[Jessica]

The only thing I've knit for my husband that was a success was the They Call Them Pirates hat last winter. I attempted Durrow from Magknits and realized that I really didn't like the pattern at all and that he would not look good in an all-over ribbed sweater.

[Chris]

Hmm, I haven't knit that much for men. I knit socks for my brother and now SIL for their wedding present (same pattern, but different colors), but I think I made my brother's pair too snug in the ankle (compensating for his skinny man legs) and he never wears them. For my dad, I have one sock knitted - a birthday present from 3 or 4 years ago. He has two totally different sized feet, and the largest foot required over 108 stitches in fingering on a size 0 needle...

[Katia]

Hi Julia,
I am knitting for men since I am knitting. First for my father (I remember a green brickstone sweater in cotton he wore for years), then for my brother when he was a boy (a sweater with the scout logo in intarsia on it), then for my first boyfriend (it was in the eighties, several intarsia sweaters that would qualify for you knit what?, picture sweaters: Shiloutte of trees in the moonshine and so on *no comment*), and since 18 years for my husband. He especially loves his gansey sweater out of tyrolian wool. He wore it 2 winters nearly every day!
Greetings from Switzerland, Katia

[Wendy]

I am really really lucky in that my significant other is usually cold in the winter and loves my handknitted sweaters and socks. He wears them to work and brags to the women in his office that I made them for him.

Only problem -- his favorite color is grey. If it ain't grey, it will likely not get worn. Sigh.

[Chris]

I knit a pair of socks for my husband, who (fortunately) doesn't wear sweaters-now they can all be for me!!. He never wore them. Granted, they were too bulky for dress shoes, but I didn't make them for dress shoes. So, for years they sat in his drawer. Then last winter I noticed these socks sitting on the floor a lot. Then I started noticing they were on his feet at night. Now they are in the trash, having been worn through in multiple places. He is begging for more. I haven't decided how long I will make him wait for the next pair. Maybe as long as it took to get him to start wearing that pair.

[Marina]

The husband loves cartoons and so, in a previous life (back in Australia) when he was still the boyfriend, I did one with Foghorn Leghorn and another with Pluto on the front for him. He has since discovered Arans & Fair Isle. Henry VIII will be his Christmas present this year. He'll get an Aran when I forget how long it takes to knit a sweater 52" in the chest!

[The Purloined Letter]

Luckily, my partner David is one of the easiest people I know to knit for. He's thin and can wear medium-sized sweaters that finish quickly. He has a wider acceptable-color radar than I do. He's happy with plain drop-shoulder sweaters, fancy Aran cardigans, or fair-isle sweaters. Now things are even better: he knits his own socks!

[margene]

I've knit for many men over the years. The boyfriend sweater myth ISN'T a myth in my estimation;-)
The best tip is to let the man pick the yarn and pattern. That way you know they'll like it and then likely wear it. I once knit a sweater for myself without washing the swatch. Thank goodness it was a unisex color and style because it fits Smith and he loves it!

[Ariel]

I've knit for a few men - my best friend and my (now) ex-boyfriend. Hey, no one told me about the curse!

I usually just knit smaller things like scarves and hats, which have all been received well. I pick neutral colors or forego the surprise and check with the male beforehand to make sure he wants it.

[Rhonda]

I only started knitting 2 years ago & I would ask my DH if he would like socks? "no" ... a sweater? "don't wear sweaters, so don't waste your time." ... mittens? "only like leather" BUT, one day I get home from work and he says, "I was looking thru one of your books." Yegads, I have LOTs of books. "And I found a HAT I would just love for next winter." I couldn't believe my ears. So for his birthday this year he got the red & black hat ...
http://pensandneedles.blogspot.com/2005/12/moms-bath-mitt-pattern.html
BTW, he LOVES it!

[Carrie K]

Alas, I learned to knit during a divorce and now my only Knitting For Men is Not Finishing my Dad's Christmas 2005 Vest.

I do however, have that AS book.

[lorinda]

I came over from Stumbling Over Chaos. My knitting experience for men consists of a sweater I knit 19 years ago for my then-boyfriend, now soon-to-be-ex-husband. It just took a long time for the curse to work!

I knit my son a sweater last winter. I hope that doesn't mean that he'll leave too. And I plan to knit my father a pair of socks.

[limedragon :-: Harriet]

Well... in Fall of 2004, I was a very new knitter, having just taught myself in August. I saw some great winterwear patterns in a Patons booklet and decided right then that I would knit my Dad one of these sets. The set included a pair of socks, and I had never knit socks, ever. I had also never used DPNs. That was definitely a learning experience. I finished the first sock with no problem, but the second (we've all heard of Second Sock Syndrome) was more difficult to start and finish. Each sock also contained a dropped sttich, which at the time I didn't know how to pick up and re-knit (I used a bit of yarn to hold the loop in place, etc). I also made a matching hat, but could not finish it in time for Christmas giving, so I left it on the circular needle and wrapped it up with the socks for gift giving. Happily, once finished, both the hat and socks went over well.

[Robin]

I'm a relatively new knitter (2 years) and have to say I love knitting for my guy. He really appreciates the hats and socks I have made for him and hopefully will love the sweater in progress (Jarrett from Vintage Style).

[Pamela]

Hi, I made a vest for my husband out of anny blatt ksar. it is kind of an olive green/khaki color. I knitted it in the round and added some ribbing on the sides for a little extra stretchiness. I had not done the finishing on a v-neck and was kind of worried. However, I have it a try and it came out beautifully. Instead of trying to miter the 'v' I overlapped at the 'v' which I think is a little more of a modern touch. I also did a 3-needle bind-off at the shoulder which was nice. He really likes it.

[Trish]

My husband asked for me to make him a hat when I started knitting. He picked the colors, I ordered the yarn and he lost it. Hmph. So last winter he begged me to make him a new hat. I made him a pretty nice looking cabled cap. He said he loves it and promised not to lose it. Well, he didn't lost it but yesterday I found it half peeking out from under his nighstand. As in, his night stand was on top of it. I've wanted to knit him a sweater but it won't be happening anytime soon.

[Scott]

I have tried to knit a sweater for a good dear friend of mine with some lovely hand spun yarn. I could never get the gage right. His wife told me that I should not make the medium version because even though my friend is tiny he likes to think he is bigger and would be offended by having a medium knit for him. I started over so many times the yarn became frayed and was coming apart. I finally gave up and knit my sister a vest!
Scott