what are some 'manly' things i can make with 1 yard of this fabric?

[Miss Mordoria]

What about one of those hawaiian style shirts guys lounge around in? And if you need more of the fabric, i'm pretty sure I've seen it other places too.

[onetomatotwo]

Does he grill or do much cooking? If so, how about an apron? You might need an additional contrasting fabric (depending on how large you make it), but 1 yard would get you pretty far.

If he's handy in the workshop, an apron might also work there -- one with lots of pockets for nails, screwdrivers, a loop for his hammer, etc.

[TheSeamRipper]

I second the Hawaiian or camp-style shirt.  I think your fabric would look awesome as a back piece on an otherwise black shirt with maybe some of your fabric as accents on the front.  I think it would show off your fabric more than an item made entirely of the same material.

[Miss Violaceous]

Oooh, or you could do a contrast stripe like this (using your fabric in place of the white): http://andsewon-embroidery.com/images/9702-crossover-bowling-shirt.jpg

[dishwasher182]

hmmm i'm liking the shirt idea- my sister just made a button up style shirt (simplicity 5581) and she said it was pretty easy- I'll defiantly post it when i'm done

[Stephen Weaver]

You could definitely get both fronts for a waistcoat/vest out of 1 meter - I've done it with less - and then use a plain black or blue for the back and the lining.  Not as hard to make as you might think, either!

[SFLAG]

If he's a bowling shirt kinda guy, I think using the dragon fabric as a detail on an otherwise solid-color shirt would be a great idea. It's such a big pattern, you really want to make something BIG out of it to show it all... without overwhelming. It might also make a cool driving cap (I know Vogue has patterns for that style, but I've never made one).

-Dorion

[olga]

I'm not a huge seamstress, so when I stumble on some fabric I just can't live without, I use it to decoupage onto furniture. It may sound weird, but is actually extremely easy and looks very cool. For example, I'm redoing a large cabinet, and each of the two large front doors have two square panels that I didn't know how to decorate. I found a fabric I loved and cut it to size. I then soaked it in a bowl of water mixed with regular elmers glue, and spread it over each of the four squares. I then trimmed each square out in wood moulding (so it looks clean and crisp). It looks amazing.