I have this lovely, very classical-looking costume. It is a deep wine red, is made of a sort of velvety material, and has a generous, flowy (not at all rigid) tutu made out of soft tulle. The leotard part is a knit, without much shaping (seeing as many ballet dancers are stick-thin, I suppose??), and it comes up just above the bust, but has a sort of v-neck cut into it. The v-neck is trimmed with this really sequin-y silver trim, which continues up over the shoulders to become the straps. There are also clear plastic straps sewn in.
I'll post a picture when I can.  ^^

My question is, what sort of thing/s can I do with it?

So I really want to knit my father something for Christmas (he loves it when I make stuff for him), but I can't think of anything I could finish in a few weeks, seeing as I'm a pitifully slow knitter. A small thing would work best; something that only takes one or two skeins would be amazing.

Another question: Can men wear cowls, or are they girly? I can't make mittens, because he prefers to wear gloves... any suggestions?

[Pattern]

I don't have the patience to do anything sizeable, so I've taken to making small things, like my lovely soft shoe cell phone case. With and without the phone in it:

(yes, it's sideways. My camera wouldn't let me turn it right way up.)


Pattern
Needles size US 6.
Back- Cast on 10.
1) Purl across (all odd rows likewise)
2) K
4) K5, Make1 (any increase that doesn't form a hole will do), K5
6) K5, M1, K6
8 ) K6, M1, K6
10) K6, M1, K7
Work rows 12-32 in st st (Or you could continue if it needed to be longer)
Bind off.

Front-Cast on 10 (This is the way I did it, as I was making it up as I went along. The increases are placed slightly differently)
1) Purl across; all odd rows likewise.
2) K
4) K5, M1, K5
6) K5, M1, K6
8 ) K6, M1, K6
10) K7, M1, K6
11) P
Bind off.

The front is sewn around the edges to the bottom of the back to form the "toe box."
The top few rows are folded over and stitched in place.
The strap is a crocheted chain.

Hopefully that makes sense. ^^ If you don't get it, just ask. Oh, and I'm not sure if it's big enough to fit the foot of anyone older than a small girl. My cell is about 4.5 cm wide x 9 cm long x 2 cm thick.

I call this my paradox bodice. On one hand, there's nothing like a denim top to make you feel large. It looks huge when flattened, and lowers one's self esteem. On the other hand, it makes me feel (maybe not look, but feel) shapely when I put it on. 0.o
It's made with three different pairs of jeans (so the color and grain are a wee bit different on each panel) and a pair of khakis for the front panel (which had already been cut up, so I have no "befores").

3/4 view:


I got this lovely camera for my birthday a while ago, and it came with a tripod and a remote control (the latter of which can be seen in a couple of these), and believe me, both came in very handy when taking the photos.
Profile:


Front:

By the way, the white blouse is seperate, and I didn't make it. But I'm self-conscious to a fault and wouldn't wear the bodice without some form of sleeves.

Back:

I'm not crazy about the hem, but it turned out OK, and I'm too lazy to fix how it bulges.

It's loosely based off my Halloween costume from ages ago. No idea what the pattern for that was. I traced the pieces, cut them with huge seam allowances, sewed them together, then put it on inside out and fit it (which was rather difficult.) A couple of the panels are stretch, so I can pull it on over my head, thank goodness. I couldn't find a seperating zipper of the right size, and hook & eye combinations drive me mad.

So... how do you like?