men’s knits – Yards of Happiness

FO: The Shawl Collared Vest

A while ago, my husband and I were watching the show Power and the main character had on a lovely navy blue shawl collared vest. My husband leaned over and asked, ‘could you make me something like that?’ and I immediately responded yes. I ordered blue yarn…and then later he said he didn’t want a blue vest. Why does this man do this to me every time? LOL So I decided to use this opportunity to try a new to me yarn, Berroco Remix and make up a vest for my husband.
Kendell’s knits
I’m pleased with the end results, although I questioned myself the entire way. You also get to see his hat I knit him!

I went with Remix yarn because he doesn’t like to be too hot (or smile in photos) and it’s a mix of non-wool that’s light and has a soft drape. I randomly picked the color patina, it’s a grey brown with flecks of white so I paired it with dark grey buttons from my stash. Remix knits almost like a Noro silk blend but I didn’t feel like it was as fragile as when I knit my rainbow cardigan with a silk yarn. Now I love the end results of the yarn so much I want to knit something for myself in a pink or teal color. I took about two months to finish this because I just didn’t want to do all the stockinette for the body but in the end I finished it for him.
Kendell’s knits
I based this around the instructions for a saddle shoulder sweater from the Knitter’s Handy Book of Top Down Sweaters. I made garter stitch saddles and trim since the yarn is so tweedy I didn’t think anything else would really stand out. And I used short rows to make the shawl collar. Since I used garter stitch I didn’t have to pick up the wraps, they just blend right on in. I could’ve gone bigger with the collar but I always worry it’ll be too big until I’ve finished it. I also use a stretchy bind off to make sure it lays flat. I think I could’ve added a touch more length to the body but he seems to be okay with the finished item. And hopefully he will wear it often. This was a pretty good project to end my 2018 on, now on to many more!

FO: Windschief

This is a hat. Specifically, this is the Windschief hat by West Knits. I made this hat for my husband two weeks ago. Thankfully I took this picture of it before he got home. Why? Because I haven’t seen it since I gave it to him. Let me explain…
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At the beginning of the month my husband made a request for two hats, one grey and one black. He wanted them short so there wasn’t a brim, fitted like another hat he had and preferably with a cable. I opted out of the cable because I kind of hate them. He also wanted to go to the yarn shop with me to pick out the yarn. He picked out Spud and Chloe Sweater in a lovely deep heathered grey and a black. Did I mention to you guys how particular he is? And since he never makes requests when he does I take them seriously.

So I settled on the Windschief because I’ve made it before and since he wasn’t getting a cable, I wanted the hat to have some interest and texture. I whipped it up on a weekend while he was playing golf, showed it to him and asked him to try it on before I blocked and then I never saw it again. He’s worn it every day since. And since he gets home before me by the time I get home to photograph him he’s stripped down from his cute work clothes. So this is all you will see of his hat and I’m not mad because at least I know he likes it and it’s serving its purpose. Maybe by the time I knit the black one I’ll get him to pose for some pics for me. Fingers crossed.

November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, Hats, Knitting, neutral (black/grey/white), Spud & Chloe, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, Knitting, men's hat, men's knits, Westknits, Windschief hat, Yarn 14 Comments

FO: Rye Tie for Ayo

A good friend our mine has always been impressed with my knitting but the first time he saw me post about knitting a tie he immediately responded that he wanted one. Every time he’s seen me knit one he asks, ‘When can I get one? What do I have to do?’ So when he told me his family was coming up for the Easter holiday/spring break I decided it was time to knit him his own Rye tie.
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The Rye tie is a simple (and free) pattern, you can knit with a worsted weight yarn. I’ve always used one that has a bit of silk in it, Cascade Venezia Worsted. I like the drape the tie has after you finish it and the colors are very saturated. You can knit this over a weekend. And since Ayo is a tall guy he asked if I could make it a little longer than the average tie and that’s easy to do. When I made a Rye tie for my friend Steven he suggested I add a keeper loop to the back to hold the tie in place.
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Since then whenever I knit one I either pick up stitches on the edge and knit a slim bar or like with this one I just knit a garter stitch bar and attached it to the back. An easy solution so that you ensure they want to wear your knitted gift.

Cher was extremely helpful while I was trying to block his tie. And by helpful I mean she kept standing directly on the tie while I was trying to pin it to my blocking boards. Sigh…gotta love knitting with dogs.
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But I knew the tie was a hit because I gave it to Ayo on Friday and he wore it to church on Sunday for Easter. It’s always good to know your hand knits will get a good home.