knitting for the men in your life...??

[brideOFkniterstein]

i've just started to knit again... woo hoo!!

my question is: what have been your favorite items to knit for boys/men?? my son is 11 (will be 12 in feb) and my husband is 36. they are both simple guys. i'd love to knit them a million things, but i want to make sure they'll wear them.

tia, and looking forward to see some patterns

[crazydoglady]

I'll start off by saying that knitting for men is hard - they seem to like simple patterns in relatively neutral (read: dull) colors, which means the knitting can get rather monotonous. With that caveat...

Socks seem to go over quite well in my family. I've made a pair for my FIL (55) and my DH (27), and both pairs get worn quite a bit. In fact, hubby's youngest brother (who's 14) actually requested a pair of handknit socks for Christmas this year. I'm knitting his pair of out Knitpicks Essential Tweed, and man is that yarn soft! Hubby likes them so much that he's got a request in for his own pair after the holidays. (We won't mention that they're knit on size 0 needles, and men seem to have ginormous feet  )

Scarves are also a good bet. Hubby has one made out of some incredibly soft yarn that's just black and in a basic garter stitch, but he loves it. For Christmas this year FIL is getting the Here and There cables scarf out of Scarf Style. (Details here)

One other thought - if they are bike riders, I've always thought that the bike helmet ear warmers (scroll down to find them) would make a great man-gift.

Good luck!

Sammie

[megaknits]

I knit the Zippered Men's Raglan from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for my husband. This project can only be defined as a labor of love. I don't think I'll be knitting him another sweater for a long, long time. You can read about my misadventures with the sweater on my blog.

[meriellyn]

Socks. Everyone loves handknit socks!
I've started getting requests for gloves too.
None of the men in my life will be getting anything sweater sized anytime soon. ;P

[knittinfiasco]

Check out knitty.com's Knit Like a Man http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATspr06KLM.html

[DeadDisco]

You can't go wrong with mittens or socks. I made the BF mittens three years ago out of cheapie acrylic, and he still uses them to this day. The thing about scarves for dudes is, not every guy is of the scarf-wearing persuasion and the best thing about knitting for other people is that you get to see your FOs in use. I have yet to meet a man that doesn't wear socks. Mittens and socks are also nice because they're challenging knits, but also quick. Melanie Falick's book Handknit Holidays has some good patterns, also knitty.com. 

[landry]

Hats, hats, and more hats!

Everytime I offer to knit something for my boyfriend, he requests another beanie/toque.  A good basic pattern in which you can customize the intarsia pattern into anything he might like (e.g. sports team logo, video game icon) is this one: http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/forum/viewtopic.php?t=123

[brideOFkniterstein]

Check out knitty.com's Knit Like a Man http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATspr06KLM.html

i just read that article... it's hysterical!!!

[knittinfiasco]

I have yet to meet a man that doesn't wear socks.

*raises hand* I have!  He's a Minnesotan who usually doesn't have anything on his feet--even in winter, with snow on the ground!--unless required by law to have shoes (he'll usually forego socks for Birkenstocks).  LOL, but all y'all know your significant others best.

[SonjaBoo]

One of my proudest crafting accomplishments ever: last winter I learned how to knit (very basic stuff here-- I am still at scarf with no pattern level -- lol) and I made my husband a black wool scarf. 

My hubby, who is normally very supportive of my crafts, said it was nice, but he'd probably never wear it.  (He's a very "name brand" kind of guy.)  This was the case until the real New England cold hit, and then he decided he'd "try it" one day-- I didn't see him without it for the rest of the winter!    

So my recommendation is scarves!  They might grumble about them at first, but they'll appreciate them later.