Book Review: Great Knit Sweaters for Guys Big & Small

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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I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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