How to Knit Attractive Gifts Men Will Love

A collection of 9 free knitting patterns for men they’ll actually want to wear

Did you know that the vast majority of people in homeless shelters are men? Several of the knitting-for-homeless experts I spoke with told me this. And I’ve seen this for myself, too.

My church’s children’s service group once visited a local homeless shelter to bring gift sacks to the residents a few weeks before Easter. The children led a short service, and the residents were invited to attend.

While one family and a few couples attended, about 90% of the individuals were men.

One thing remained constant, though. Every person who attended the service (and received a gift sack) were extremely thankful and grateful for our presence in addition to the gifts.

This served as a powerful reminder to me. Homeless people often feel forgotten and ignored. any way we can help them feel like they are worthy of love and concern can make a huge difference to them.

Challenges of Knitting for Men: Finding Free Knitting Patterns for Men

If you check Ravelry.com’s pattern browser, you’ll learn a distressing fact. You’re nearly five times more likely to find a free knitting pattern for women as you are for men!

Not only can this be a liability for male knitters (since not all men necessarily want to knit fussy lace or intricate floral designs), but it also makes knitting for men more of a challenge.

So, to make it easier for all of us, I’ve gathered a collection of terrific free knitting patterns for men. These include hats, socks, a sweater, fingerless mitts, and scarves.

Here, you’ll find the perfect pattern for the men in your life as well as wonderful projects for charity.

Fabulous Free Knitting Patterns for Men

Turn a Square: This hat pattern is attractive without being overly fussy or utterly boring to knit. You can’t ask for much more than that!

A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend: I suspect many women enjoy this hat pattern as well as men. It’s a simple ribbed beanie that fits the head snugly and easily covers the ears. (Plus, no need to worry about a curse, as you might for a sweater!)

Simple Skyp Socks: It can be difficult to find a sock pattern suitable for men that doesn’t bore the knitter to tears. The stitch pattern of these socks fits the bill perfectly; it’s interesting without being too fussy for the no-frills-please man.

Simple Summer Tweed Top-Down V-Neck: This is an ideal sweater pattern for a man (so long as he isn’t a boyfriend 😉). It’s extremely simple, although the complexity of construction makes it a challenging yet enjoyable project for the experienced knitter.

Stockholm Scarf: Here’s a truly unisex scarf pattern that is far more interesting than a basic garter or stockinette-stitch scarf.

Malabrigo Hand Thingies: This is a fun pattern for attractive, soft fingerless mitts.

Nola’s Slipper Pattern: This pattern was designed specifically to be used for the Seamen’s Church Institute – Christmas at Sea program, but of course it’s wonderful for any man who needs to keep his feet warm at home, too!

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the link to this pattern (and many others).

Java: Another sock pattern that — well, I’ll just quote pattern designer Cailyn Meyer directly: “These socks are slightly caffeinated. Enough to keep you awake, but not enough to make you jittery, just like good java should.”

The Dudester Scarf: Another scarf pattern that will make any professional man look utterly put-together and perfect for the office.

Now you’ll have the perfect pattern no matter what you want to knit. These free knitting patterns for men will deliver warmth and love to the men in your life as well as men in need.