A sweater for my DH

[Elle]

DH has been bugging me for a crocheted sweater. I have started one several times but have always ended up frogging it because I didn't like the way it was going up. I started it in a fingering weight chenille and in a thread, figuring we don't have real cold winters here (heck, we really don't have winter at all), but the sweater kept turning out too lacy looking no matter which stitch I used.

 

I was browsing around on Ebay and I found an auction for TLC Essentials, 6 oz. skeins, and the photo showed 4 skeins for $9.99 in what appeared to be a bright baby blue on my monitor. The write-up simply called it "light blue". I have a LOT (15 skeins) of a fisherman color RHSS, and I figured the combination of the two colors would make a nice sweater for DH. The fisherman would cut down on the foofy-ness of the bright baby blue

 

Well, the TLC Essentials arrived yesterday, and when I opened the box, I couldn't believe my eyes! There were not 4 skeins for $9.99, there were TEN!!! A full SIXTY ounces of VERY soft, cozy yarn for just $9.99! And the COLOR! It's not a baby blue at all, it's a very pretty light blue/gray called "Steel Blue"! So I've decided that now that I have all this wonderful yarn, the whole sweater can be made of the same wonderful softness!

 

I couldn't decide which pattern to use, I looked at every free pattern for a men's crocheted sweater I could find, and the only one I even remotely liked for my husband was the fisherman-colored one that has the cable-looking panel going down the front, but I have a booger of a time with front post and back post crocheting, so I was a bit afraid to try it. Crochet Kim to the rescue! I bought her pattern "Sunday Best", and hopefully it will arrive by tomorrow in my email! I'm out of printer ink, so I'll have to sit at the computer to crochet until I get ink cartridges, but I have an overstuffed armchair for a computer chair, so no great hardship there. I can't wait to start working with the TLC Essentials! I LOVE the way it feels! This is the first time I've ever tried working with it. And a BIG THANK YOU to Kim Guzman for designing a great looking men's sweater!

 

Elle

[mizduck]

Congrats on your yarn score and finding the perfect pattern! I know sometimes it can be very hard.

[karin4christ]

That was a great yarn deal. I can't wait to see pics of the finished sweater.

[Junibears]

That was a real bargain! I buy yarn from ebay quite a lot and I feel I get good bargains. I often don't know what I'm going to crochet with it until it gets here and I can really see and feel it.

Crochet hugs

June

[alchemyfyr]

Good for you!!! It's amazing to me that your husband WANTS a crocheted sweater....I keep offering to make my husband a knitted sweater and he says No Way!! Although he does like the things I make for my daughter and myself, he just wouldn't wear one. Good scoring on the yarn, pattern, and the husband! lol

[Elle]

That was a great yarn deal. I can't wait to see pics of the finished sweater.

 

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I opened the box and saw all that yarn! I will definitely take pics when I get it done. Right now I have so many WIPs that it's ridiculous, but most of them are holiday gifts, so I HAVE to get them done in the very near future, and I'll post pics of everything as I finish them.

 

Elle

[Elle]

That was a real bargain! I buy yarn from ebay quite a lot and I feel I get good bargains. I often don't know what I'm going to crochet with it until it gets here and I can really see and feel it.

Crochet hugs

June

 

I do the same thing! I LOVE to buy the huge lot sales because there's always such interesting stuff in them, but every so often I buy a specific thing because it's either exactly what I'm looking for, or close enough that it's too good a deal to pass up. We don't have a LYS, and our WalMart has a yarn aisle, probably a better one than most WalMarts, but they still don't have all that much when you consider the number of different types of yarn out there. I'm always greatly relieved and very pleased when the yarn arrives and it either meets or exceeds my expectations!

 

Elle

[Elle]

Mizduck writes: Congrats on your yarn score and finding the perfect pattern! I know sometimes it can be very hard.

 

I have driven myself crazy for the better part of a year looking for a pattern that I liked! They're either too open and lacy looking for DH's taste or they're kids patterns whenever I find a sweater that was a good style! It has been like a search for a needle in a haystack!

 

Elle

[Elle]

Good for you!!! It's amazing to me that your husband WANTS a crocheted sweater....I keep offering to make my husband a knitted sweater and he says No Way!! Although he does like the things I make for my daughter and myself, he just wouldn't wear one. Good scoring on the yarn, pattern, and the husband! lol

 

One thing I've got to say about my DH - and I hope this doesn't come out wrong, but I'm very lucky because he's much more in touch with his feminine side than most hubbies. You'd never know it to look at him, he's six feet tall, 230 pounds, and he has a beautiful, thick mustache. I've been told by many over the years that he looks just like Tom Selleck. He's a total jeans and t-shirts/flannel shirts/sweatshirts kind of guy, but when he sees something handmade, and especially something that I have made for him, he goes nuts over the work that went into it! I'm also lucky in that his attitude carries over into his emotions and not just his tastes, he's very caring about everyone's feelings. I have had perfect strangers here at the hotel, when they realize that he's my husband, tell me "Oh! YOU'RE Elle! I was talking to your husband outside the other day and that man is just NUTS about you! From the way he talked about you I couldn't wait to meet the woman that was the source of all this adoration! He told me that you're his best friend in the world!" I wouldn't trade him for all the gold in the world and I thank God every day that I've been blessed with him. We have our differences from time to time, who doesn't? But in general, I am one VERY lucky woman!

 

Elle

[alchemyfyr]

You are certainly very lucky!!! He sounds wonderful!!

[happy stitcher]

Elle,

My DH wants a zippered cardigan, and I've been searching (with NO luck) for a good cardigan pattern. I've looked at that booklet, but I decided it must be Tunisian - do you know if that's right? I'm not that skilled at Tunisian. I can do some basic stitching, but I haven't made anything with much detail.

Have you come across any good cardigan patterns while you were searching?

Thank you!!

Judy

[Elle]

You are certainly very lucky!!! He sounds wonderful!!

 

Thank you. I think he is, but then, I'm very biased.

 

Elle

[Elle]

Elle,

My DH wants a zippered cardigan, and I've been searching (with NO luck) for a good cardigan pattern. I've looked at that booklet, but I decided it must be Tunisian - do you know if that's right? I'm not that skilled at Tunisian. I can do some basic stitching, but I haven't made anything with much detail.

Have you come across any good cardigan patterns while you were searching?

Thank you!!

Judy

 

I DID see a pattern for a cardigan somewhere. Let me think on it for a bit and when I find it, I'll post the link for you. I think it was a regular buttoned cardigan, but it ought to be pretty easy to convert it to a zippered version.

 

Elle

[Roli]

I have the same problems finding the right yarn to make hubby a sweater. He doesn't like anything bulky so a thin yarn like Essentials is a good idea. Kim has some great patterns for men. I really like the Tunesian sweater but it looks like it will be difficult to make. I can't wait to see your DH's sweater. Please post a photo when it's done.

[Indigo Skye]

"(heck, we really don't have winter at all)"

 

Humph, THAT'S where I need to be.

[crochetkim]

Well now, I started reading this thread because of the men's sweater topic (which always interests me), then I see that you're talking about the Sunday Best Sweater. Yay! Can't wait to hear how it works out for you!

 

Then, I read the loving passage you wrote about your husband, and I got all teary-eyed just thinking about it. What a keeper!

 

And, I saw that there were a couple of responses regarding Tunisian crochet. I wanted to assure everyone that the Sunday Best Sweater isn't Tunisian crochet. It's traditional crochet, through and through.

 

There is also a recent thread I started for a men's zip-front houndstooth vest. I believe someone is looking for a cardigan. But, perhaps you might want to have a look at this one as an option.

[Elle]

I have the same problems finding the right yarn to make hubby a sweater. He doesn't like anything bulky so a thin yarn like Essentials is a good idea. Kim has some great patterns for men. I really like the Tunesian sweater but it looks like it will be difficult to make. I can't wait to see your DH's sweater. Please post a photo when it's done.

 

I will DEFINITELY post a photo of the sweater when I get it finished! I'm having so much fun crocheting it! I learned a new stitch thanks to Kim, it's super easy but the effect it gives is just so cool! It's called a short single crochet, and the effect is that the wrong side of the garment looks like tunisian stitch, but the right side looks like it's knitted! I LOVE it!

 

The best part about the yarn I'm using is that it's heavy enough that the sweater will be suitable to use as an outer garment all winter down here, but not so heavy that it will be too warm to wear indoors if DH chooses to. It's a 4 ply knitting worsted (TLC Essentials), VERY soft and cozy feeling, and the color is called "steel blue".

 

Elle

[Elle]

"(heck, we really don't have winter at all)"

 

Humph, THAT'S where I need to be.

 

Well come on down for a visit! Crochet friends are ALWAYS welcome here!

 

We live in south Texas (about 2 hours north of Corpus Christi) on the Gulf of Mexico. Winters here are practically nonexistent. All this week it has been up in the 80s again, although it's not as humid as it is during the summer. It will get down into the 30s sometimes at night, but the next day it's usually back up in the 50s. And it doesn't get down into those temperatures until about the last week of January, and we'll only have those temperatures for about three weeks, because by the end of February the daytime temps are back up in the high 60s and low 70s again. By March we're wearing shorts and tank tops and complaining about the heat again. We have four seasons here - early summer, summer, late summer, and summer lite.

 

Elle

[Elle]

Well now, I started reading this thread because of the men's sweater topic (which always interests me), then I see that you're talking about the Sunday Best Sweater. Yay! Can't wait to hear how it works out for you!

 

Then, I read the loving passage you wrote about your husband, and I got all teary-eyed just thinking about it. What a keeper!

 

And, I saw that there were a couple of responses regarding Tunisian crochet. I wanted to assure everyone that the Sunday Best Sweater isn't Tunisian crochet. It's traditional crochet, through and through.

 

There is also a recent thread I started for a men's zip-front houndstooth vest. I believe someone is looking for a cardigan. But, perhaps you might want to have a look at this one as an option.

 

Kim, I was so thrilled to find your pattern, you have no idea! And now you have the tweed striped pattern out, I've already decided that when I get my December crochet allowance I'm going to purchase that one to make for him when I finish this one! I'd love to make him the zip-front vest, but he's not a vest person, so I'll have to live without that one, unless, of course, I make it for myself. That's always a possibility! It would be very cute with a turtleneck and jeans!

 

I agree with you that he is most definitely a keeper. From our very first date we have been finishing each others' sentences.

 

I just adore that short single crochet stitch you use in the Sunday Best Sweater! I LOVE the way the one side looks like tunisian and the other side looks like knit! And it's so SIMPLE to do! Brava, Kim! This pattern is very simple to follow and the results, from what I can see thus far, are just amazing! A winner all the way around! I will post a photo when I'm done with it.

 

Elle

[crochetkim]

I just adore that short single crochet stitch you use in the Sunday Best Sweater! I LOVE the way the one side looks like tunisian and the other side looks like knit! And it's so SIMPLE to do! Brava, Kim! This pattern is very simple to follow and the results, from what I can see thus far, are just amazing! A winner all the way around! I will post a photo when I'm done with it. Elle

 

Thank you, Elle! I like that stitch combination a lot too. It gives the feel and drape of knit. Makes garments very squishy, if you know what I mean. I always tend to use these highly technical terms, don't I? I've used it and variations of it many times.