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
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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.
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