Gifts to Knit for Father’s Day

Father’s Day is coming up soon, and if you want to knit something sweet for a dad in your life, now’s the time to start!

I have collected some great patterns for Father’s Day in previous years, but here are a few more ideas for you, too.

If the dad you’re knitting for likes coffee or tea, a knit cup cozy is a great idea. Here’s one from Knits’ End I shared a few months ago, but of course there are tons out there, such as:

mug hug by Rebecca Gunderson (great stash-buster, too!)
Mug Cozy by Twisted Fibers Design
Cabled Mug Cozy from Knit Picks

just to name a few. Or stitch a bottle cozy such as the Root Beer Bottle Cozy from Random Heather or the ribbed bottle cozy from Laura’s Knits.

Red Heart has some great, easy patterns for Father’s Day knitting. Some of my favorites are the Men’s Mosaic Vest, Garter Stitch Neckties and the easy Slippers for Him.

Or try a laptop sweater from Just B Crafty. I actually gave my husband a Kindle Cozy the other day, and patterns for the old-school Kindles still work pretty well on newer versions. A couple of options:

Sock Yarn Cozy from Aknitica (another good stash buster as it’s worked in individual mitered squares)
Cabled Paperwhite Case by the Hixson Chronicles
Wise Owl Kindle Cozy by Anna-Lena Thiel

And speaking of knitting for guys, we had a little mishap with our spam filter the other week when I was giving away copies of Boyfriend Sweaters, so go enter that giveaway if you didn’t get a chance. With the end of school and vacation, it will be a couple weeks before I catch up on giveaways anyway.

Next Pattern:

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.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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