Knitting

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Knit for Guys with These Great Sweater Patterns

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boyfriend sweatersThis week my husband and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage, and we’ve actually been together about 21 years (!) in all.

I have never knit him a sweater.

I’ve knit him a scarf he’s never worn, and a rat tail for a Halloween costume. That’s about it.

He prefers rather lightweight sweaters, in either basic textures or with argyle-style patterns, and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to take on the commitment of either. Maybe because I don’t want to spend all that time working on something and then have him not like it (the sweater curse might not be real, but that would certainly annoy me).

I happen to have two copies of Boyfriend Sweaters: 19 Designs for Him that You’ll Want to Wear by Bruce Weinstein, and I’m giving them away this week so maybe you’ll do better than I have all these years.

There are some great sweaters in here that I would totally wear; check it out on Ravelry. You’ll also find hats and scarves and lots of great tips for getting a good fit, finishing things well and more.

If you’d like a chance to win one of these books, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, May 21. If you have a significant other, I’d love to know how long you’ve been together. Otherwise, tell me about your experience knitting for people with a gender other than your own. Or both!

Thanks for commenting, visiting and sharing, and good luck.

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Comments

  1. I do indeed have a significant other with similar tastes in knit garments to those of your husband. Met him in 1966 when he was 15 and I was 12, started dating in 1967 and married in 1976. This October will be 41 years, six (now adult) kids, and 5 grandkids later. Needless to say, the Sweater curse didn’t pan out for us.

  2. Years ago i knitted an arran jumper for my then boyfriend. He was a big guy so it took time to knit and finish off. We had at this point been going out for 4 years. The curse is real. Boy do i regret the time i spent on that man. The sweater was perfection however.

  3. This looks like a super cool book with a lot of great patterns. Thanks for the chance to win. I have been married 8 years and together 13. Happy anniversary and wishing you many more years of happiness and love.

  4. Of all the knits that I have made for my husband, he has only ever worn 1, a sleeveless vest, which he loves and now wears to death. The others are left in the cupboard, but admittedly I never did have the patience to use finer needles in the old days so it was always aran knits. Now that I have mellowed and grown older, I am more prepared to use 2.5 or 3 mm needles and am prepared to try those too. My husband and I have been married 30 years, but have been together for 40 years!! We were sweethearts from Sixth form, and no, never the thought of divorce was ever entertained in all our years together……but murder, yes, several times!!

  5. I’ve been married nearly 24 years and have only ever knit my husband one sweater which was when we were engaged. I keep putting it off as his size would take me forever to knit!

  6. Happy Anniversary! My husband and I started dating more than 30 years ago. I knit a lot of things for him when we were younger, which he wore, but hadn’t knit for him in years. This winter, though, he found some merino/silk yarn he really liked. I finished a vest for him on size 3s, but had to knit it almost twice. The first time, I got up to the armholes before I realized I would run out of yarn.

  7. Since there are about 2759.393512 women’s sweater patterns to every 1 for us men, I seem to knit a lot more for Mom than I do for myself. Winning this collection would help to balance the equation. Plus, if I understand this curse stuff, when I do knit myself a sweater, receiving it could prove to be just the impetus I need to leave myself – something I’ve been considering for quite a while.

  8. One of my first cable projects was a sweater for my dad. It wasn’t perfect, but true to form, he wore it proudly – I love him even more for that! I started knitting a sweater for my boyfriend a few years ago – still haven’t finished it… we’re no longer together, so I went through a few stages where I first considered ripping it down, then I thought better of it and left it alone. Now that the ex and I have settled into a good friendship, I’m hopeful of finishing it for him.

  9. What a great book! Well, my husband and I have been together for 14 years! I knitted him only 1 vest. He likes to golf and it was my gift. Btw, I spun the yarn myself too!

  10. I would like to make a sweater for my father-in-law! I am making it a point this year to knit/crochet something for the entire clan and I know that he would love a hand-made sweater.

  11. My hard drive crashed and burned and kicked the bucket and melted like the Wicked Witch of the West in a monsoon downpour this morning. I was dejectedly leaving the house to see about a replacement when I spotted a padded envelope on the stairs. I saw the name Sarah White and my little heart grew three sizes! Thanks so much for this, it was just the pick me up I needed on this frustrating day. Now I just have to get used to Windows 10 on my new computer – eeewwwww!

Have you read?

A Sweet Skater Dress to Knit

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn. 

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done. 

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit. 

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips. 

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit. 

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

Book Review – Knitted Tanks and Tunics

How to Knit a Simple Sweater Dress