Knits Men Want: The 10 Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting for a Man~ Plus the Only 10 Patterns She'll Ever Need [Paperback]

Bruce Weinstein (Author), Jared Flood (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

For as long as women have been knitting, they’ve been knitting garments for men—only to have men hide their lovingly created pieces in drawers and closets. Men aren’t being intentionally cruel; they’re just not comfortable in knitwear made with bright colors, itchy yarn, or flashy designs. 
So what’s a knitter to do? Understand the male psyche, says knitting instructor Bruce Weinstein. In Knits Men Wan he presents ten hilarious essays, each based on a rule that helps women knit for men successfully. “Men Are Babies” explains why guys need to wear soft fabrics. “Men Hate Fittings” describes how to create a sweater based on one that’s in his wardrobe. Following each essay is a timeless master pattern, from socks, hats, and scarves to an array of sweaters, all in a range of sizes and most written for multiple gauges. With this book in hand, women finally have the secret to knitting garments that men will appreciate and actually wear.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Weinstein has been designing knitwear and teaching knitting for 10 years and has written 15 cookbooks with his partner, Mark Scarborough. Once a creative director at Grey Advertising and The Spier Group, he has appeared on the Today show, The View, CBS This Morning, and QVC, and writes for numerous national publications. He lives in Colebrook, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584798408
• ISBN-13: 978-1584798408
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

One of America's premier food experts, Bruce Weinstein's training began at Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute. He then worked as an advertising creative director specializing in food and drink clients such as Lea and Perrins, Bols, Bacardi, and José Cuervo. This culinary/creative expertise led to his first book, Frozen Drinks With or Without the Buzz (Clarkson Potter, 1997).

The Ultimate Ice Cream Book soon followed in 1999, published by Morrow, and has sold over 250,000 copies to date. The ice cream title was the impetus for his best-selling "ultimate" series that now includes The Ultimate Party Drink Book (2000), The Ultimate Candy Book (2000), The Ultimate Shrimp Book (2002), The Ultimate Brownie Book (2002), The Ultimate Potato Book (2003), The Ultimate Muffin Book (2004), The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book (2004), The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book (2005), and The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book (2005).

In March, 2007, HarperCollins brought out his magnum opus: The Ultimate Cook Book: 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas. Chosen as a main selection of the Book of the Month Club this title has been touted by the likes of Jacques Pepin and Bette Midler. January 2009 saw the publication of Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It, followed by Cooking Know-How, a technique driven cookbook by John Wiley in April, 2009. This book won the Gourmand International Cook Book award for best American cook book in the easy recipe category.

Along the way, other titles include Cooking for Two (2004), a new way to cook for American's burgeoning small households, as well as Grilling Essentials (2002) for the Cooking Club of America, The Stonewall Kitchen Cookbook (2001), and Dr. Phil's Weight Loss Solution Cookbook (2004).

In 2010 Bruce will have three new books published. Stewart Tabori, and Chang will publish Ham: An Obsession With The Hind Quarter in March then publish Bruce's first knitting book, Knits Men Want, in April. In May Simon & Schuster will publish REAL FOOD HAS CURVES - a 7-step plan to get off processed food.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Knits Everyone Wants April 6, 2010

By Toasted Toads

Format:Paperback

I admit that I have yet to make an actual sweater. I've made numerous hats, cowls, socks, mittens, etc. Something about dealing with gauge and spending hours and hours on a sweater that might come out the wrong size is slightly nerve wracking.

I've spent at least 4 months trying to figure out what my first sweater is going to be. Do I want cables? Lace? Cardigan? Pullover? Wool? etc and so forth. I'm a girl, the sweater needs to be flattering, and in the perfect color, and less boring than plain stockinette. The biggest problem for me is that I'm not a tiny person, so anything I make (once I do the gauge swatching and such) still needs to be altered with short rows for the bust and waist shaping. After 4 months of indecision I decided instead to make my first sweater for my brother, who is one of the only men in my life I believe would appreciate it.

I brought "Knits Men Want" to dinner last night so he could pick out what he wanted. I would've thought he'd want the henley (it's my favorite), but he prefers the cardigan (although he's still undecided on buttons vs. zipper). My favorite part about this whole process is that I can pick a yarn that I want to work with (and that he likes) and figure out which gauge suits the yarn so that I get a fabric I like (not too holey and not too stiff) and all the math for the pattern is already done for me. Assuming I end up making sweaters for more men in my life during my life (I'm only 25...I have plenty of knitting time left), there are a lot of shapes and sizes to clothe, and that's accounted for in this book.

I also love the bit of humor that is included in the book.... I think it might help me get through the cursing and frogging that I'm sure will happen at some point in this process, and it's good to have the reassurance that I am learning from other people's sweater "mistakes." (And the unfortunate incident of wiping up cat puke with a cashmere hat, that was funny and sad. Rule #5 "Not All Men Are Worthy Of Cashmere.")

It's a good book. It covers the basics, which is really all a guy's gonna wear anyway (except for some funky colored socks...maybe) and will be a part of my knitting arsenal for a while.

P.S. An aside on socks...most sock patterns are written for a woman, at the largest we're looking at a 9" circumference...this book goes up to 11". Read more ›

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Want!!! April 15, 2010

By Many Feathers Boy

Format:Paperback

Being a knitter, and being a man, and being a man of a size that even the modest offering of male knitting patterns do not fit it is amazing and nigh unto a miracle to find a book that makes me want to make not one or two but /every/ pattern inside it! I cannot wait to own this book and the moment the fiscal opportunity arises, I'll do so ;) Just the fact that I want to knit them is enough for me, discounting everything else.

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guy Projects March 25, 2010

By Bonnie Brody TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are looking for a project to knit for the man (or men) in your life, this may be the perfect book. All the patterns are appealing and they are provided in various charted sized from 40" to 60". The patterns are given in different gauges and they all list the amount of yarn needed for completion. All of them are practical and attractive. The patterns are easy to follow and I especially like the feature of varied gauges for each project.

The book starts out with a comparison of what men want vs. what women want. For instance, men like to blend in while women may want to stand out in a crowd. A women will dress up for any occasion but a man will dress up for his wedding and a funeral. Women will skip lunch to afford a new outfit. Men will wear an old outfit to take a woman to lunch. Sound familiar?!

My favorite patterns are The Basic Pullover and Vest, The Raglan-Sleeved Henley, The Thick and Warm Socks, and the Watch Cap. All of these patterns are 'guy patterns'.

I find this book a great resource. It has projects that I want to make and the instructions are easy to follow. I give it 5 stars.

Bonnie Brody 3/25/2010

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad, bad pattern design! Don't buy, January 29, 2012

By Martin Vick

Format:Paperback

I bought this book because I really liked that the different yarn gauges were given. The pattern I followed from this book ended up giving me armholes that were about four inches too big for the sleeve. My knitted pieces were correct in their measurements that were given in the diagrams showing the finished sizes. Then I did the math comparing the sleeve top length with the armhole opening and it was obvious that this was a bad, bad pattern. The sleeve type is a drop shoulder with an unshaped sleeve top, The lines were all straight so it was easy to measure. Also the shoulders were pretty narrow to be a drop shoulder. I wish I had caught this earlier as I am now ripping this sweater apart and revamping the design. I read the other reviews and other knitters whom have actually knitted an item from this book have complaints that are similar. Great idea to list the different gauges but who quality checked these patterns? CJP

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars knits men want December 19, 2011

By Kerry Edwards

Format:Paperback

I knit for several men, and some of them fit the model the author describes. I liked the tables of figues to suit each gauge. However, when I made the sweater that features on the cover, something was seriously wrong. I am experienced knitter and followed the instructions carefully and ended up with a garment with the strangest rectangular neckline, and it looked like it was on backwards. And when we put it on backwards, it looked worse. I have to rip it back to the armholes and redo it using a different pattern.

Another complaint, after the purchase I started receiving tweets from the author. Isn't passing personal information to third parties illegal?

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars What year is it? August 22, 2012

By Sasha Torres

Format:Paperback

This book is shockingly sexist in its assumptions about men and women (and heterosexist in its assumption that only women knit for men). Disgusting, really. Girlfriends, if the man you are thinking of knitting for can't stand to be measured or be bothered to consult briefly about yarn, DON'T KNIT FOR HIM. He's not worthy. Buy him a sweater, if you must.

Also, there are problems with a lot of the patterns. If you do buy the book, be sure to check other knitter's experiences on Ravelry and look for errata before you cast on.

Some points for the fact that the patterns are offered in a range of gauges. Hence the two stars. But really, you'd be better off with any of Ann Budd's "Knitters' Handy" books for basic patterns in different gauges.