Friday, April 24, 2009

Dad's Man Scarf

Men are hard to knit for. No matter what I do, the yarns, colors, and patterns I tend to like turn out girly. No good for men. So my poor father has been waiting for years on a knitted gift. Socks have languished in the forgotten WIPs bag; hats have failed before they were begun. But here, at last, is a project I was happy to gift to my beloved Dad.

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This is Jenna Jenks' Braidy Scarf done in Tahki (that's TAAAAAAH-ki, apparently) Sedona, a beautiful worsted wool-silk blend tweed. The pattern, though shamelessly lifted from The Gap, is a real pleasure to knit: minimal, easy, and completely stylish. Dad, I hope you actually get some use out of it!

Tahki Sedona is also a real pleasure to work with. The colors are reserved and gorgeous, and the wool in the silk gives it that little hint of crinkle that I love. I chose it initially because it was the only tweed yarn that didn't look like it came from a candy store, and I ended up entirely pleased by this choice.

For anyone who happens to want to knit but thinks they don't have the skills to make something beautiful, I recommend you try this pattern! It looks beautiful in chunky yarns, too, so it takes only a minimal yarn investment (the pattern calls for Lyon brand Wool-Ease Chunky, about $3 a ball) The two braided cables provide the only moments of breath-holding, and with a little faith and courage I'm certain that anyone can get past them. Believe me, the gratification is worth it!

1 comment:

Max Robinson said...

That's a very nice scarf! Your Dad should be very happy with it.

As a man just starting to knit, what kinds of designs end up looking "manly" is a very practical question for me. I see three things manly about your design: the solid color, the wide ribs, and the braided cable motifs. All three elements add style, but meet the necessary "not too fancy" element of men's style. The braided cable is probably the riskiest element, but (a) having one braid per side looks "plainer" than two or three would have, and (b) it looks Celtic, and there is a certain rustic roughness to the Celts that makes their designs more manly than some.

Again, it's a beautiful scarf, and definitely appropriate for a man.