Book Review: Great Knit Sweaters for Guys Big & Small

February 18, 2016 by Sarah White 1 Comment

I have never knit a sweater for my husband. When we first got together — almost 20 years ago! — he didn’t really ever wear sweaters, and while he does now, he tends toward lightweight, fine-gauge garments that would be difficult to replicate in hand-knitting.

That doesn’t mean I don’t want to knit him sweaters. As a knitter, they’re one of the best expressions of love we have. But it’s a lot of work to knit for an adult male and then have them not wear whatever we made because they don’t like it for some reason.

Andrea Sanchez started designing because she wanted to knit the perfect little sweater for her son and couldn’t find the kind of pattern she wanted. She also knits for her husband and brother, and has collected a dozen sweater patterns, all sized from a child’s size 2 to adult XXL, in her book Great Knit Sweaters for Guys Big & Small.

As you might expect in a book for guys, the patterns are mostly pretty straightforward, with simple textured stitch patterns, cables or other design elements that make them a little more special. There are two patterns with colorwork — one a color-blocked baseball-style shirt and the other a circular-yoked sweater — and there are pullovers, cardigans, a vest and a henley.

It’s nice to be able to see what the sweaters look like on both little guys and adults (her family members and a friend are the models) and worked in different colors.

And, of course, you can knit these projects for yourself or any little girl in your life if you don’t have guys you want to knit for.

I like the simple Weekend Pullover, a mostly Stockinette raglan with panels of Garter Stitch on the sides and at the top back; Ridgewood, another raglan with a textured Garter Rib on the body; the Towpath Henley, with a pretty waffle weave stitch that I’d like to knit for everyone in my family; and the Cascade Locks Jacket, a perfect little grandpa sweater. You can check out all the projects on Ravelry.

This book is a great choice if you have both little guys and men you like to knit for. These patterns look like fun to knit and to wear, and they aren’t too fussy for the particular guys out there but will still be fun to knit.

Book specifications: 80 pages, paperback, 12 patterns. Stackpole Books, published January 2016. Suggested retail $16.95.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

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Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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