A friend of mine recently celebrated his 40th birthday. I could NOT decide on a suitable present. The guy has everything one could reasonably wish for, a charming wife, two gorgeous daughters, an amazing career that’s really making an positive impact on the world etc etc. The winter is cold in our part of the world and so I finally decided that I will offer to make him a hat tailored to his exact specifications. My friend will select the style, the color, the yarn; I will measure, create and deliver.
To guide his choices, I assembled a list of hat styles for men. There are 18 guy friendly designs in the final list; 3 crochet patterns and 15 knit patterns. For each hat design I post a link showing an example of that pattern and often several versions I found inspiring. Workhorse patterns, the classic ones you return to multiple times, are often those that look great in a variety of yarns. For some of these designs, I post several links to survey the range of stylistic variations afforded by yarn and color choice.
Without further ado, here is the list. I can’t wait to see which one he’ll choose!
1) Zissou
Designer: Cheryl Niamath
pattern source: http://fetchingknits.thruhere.net/
Comments: The sexy seafaring look. Wear with appropriate Brando-esque machismo such as here.
2) Pocket hat
Designer: TECHknitting™
pattern source: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/
Comments: A beautifully executed wide striped hat with elegant knitterly details like a tubular brim and a flat top.
See here for a photo of a cool guy enjoying his hat, also check out donnab’s blog and here to see a charming family in their matching pocket hats.
3) Lidsville
Designer: Kellen Wallis
pattern source: Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Comments: I eagerly awaited the Son of Stitch book and it not disappoint; several patterns from this book made their way onto my list. This pattern is a cool classic for men of all ages and levels of maturity. One word of caution for a more satisfactory experience with this pattern is to plan ahead with the seaming and avoid having to weave in zillions of ends. I particularly like this fellow confidently sporting his lidsville.
4) Half-Pipe hat
Designer: Debbie Stoller
pattern source: Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Comments: Admittedly, this pattern might not be for every 40-year old guy, but you never know! Wear this hat with confidence as shown in MasonsHalfPipeHat, Knitbusy’s halfpipe hat and nickel76′s Jesse’s Half-Pipe (Ravelry account required).
5) Skull Isle Hat
Designer: Chelsea Fowler-Biondolillo
pattern source: Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Comments: Another winner from Son of Stitch and a rugged unsentimental hat. Check out Jeffner’s Skull Isle Hat, aKnitOnTheSide’s Cal’s Skull Hat Mark III and gaucheknitter’s 2nd Flaming Skulls hat. On this theme, MSCRoman’s Baby Skull Hat deserves a mention; although not an adult hat, it’s TOTALLY adorable!
6) Celtic Beanie
Designer: Nienke Paap
pattern source: Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Comments: Very interesting pattern and, being double knit, requires a lot of knitting! I admired the execution of this pattern in ForestStryfe’s Celtic Beanie, and BronxKnit’s Celtic Camo Hat is really fabulous with the solid design on variagated background.
7) Ski beanie
Designer: Terra Jamieson
pattern source: Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Comments: A pattern for the rugged but sensitive guy knit in fine guage with a luxe yarn. Check out the designer’s version and fish0matic’s Ski Beanie.
8) Turn a square
Designer: Jared Flood
pattern source: http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/2008/07/turn-square-pattern-now-available.html
Comments: A truly awesome classic pattern that looks good on everyone! Make sure to check gauge on this one and pay strict attention to the “5 inches from CO edge” instruction. Then go have fun mixing yarns and striping. There are so many terrific examples of this pattern it’s difficult to favorite just one; I particularly liked was jellyfish’s Inauguration Watchin’ Hat – great color choices and a hat with a place in history. Go to Flickr, search with the exact phrase “turn a square” and find your own favorite.
9) 70′s style ski hat
Designer: Whitney Van Nes
pattern source: http://www.purlbee.com/whitneys-70s-ski-hat/
Comments: Classy pattern for any lucky guy. Color selection is king here, some versions I enjoyed were steveknits’ 70′s Ski Hat #6 and Dreams in Fiber’s modified version.
10) Boy Beanie
Designer: Laura Killoran
pattern source: http://www.archive.org/details/BoyBeanieV2.0
Comments: Easy crochet pattern. If you think yours is too short remember that blocking can make a big difference to the overall length. Croshay also features boy beanies with appliques which are very cool.
11) Hot Head
Designer: Alex Zorn
pattern source: Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook
Comments: Take 4 colors, bulky needles and GO!! I’m a huge fan of this pattern. I’ve knit it flat with seaming and knit it in the round without. This pattern is versatile and the bulky guage keeps one’s head very warm.
For an original Hot head in the designer’s colors, see Indymom’s Ian’s hot head hat.
editrix’s Warm Head and 4k9s’ Hot Head hat are in Bulky Lopi, one of my fave bulky yarns. Zinnia1954′s Michael’s hat, Manouevres’ Cold Head and nunoidia’s first hat are in Brown Sheep lamb’s Pride Bulky. The pattern looks equally good in acrylic yarns such as the gorgeous examples from yarnkittyofhavok’s Another Stupid Hat and vskaar’s Stripey Hat (Ravelry acount required). Or simply strand a worsted weight yarn showcased in newsox’s Rasta Hot Head. Some other great color choices I enjoyed were knitnatnc’s Tago’s Striped Hat and remesnik’s Hot Head. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Hot Head is a gender and age neutral design with each individual hat expressing its personality through color. Let me round off with a mention of blueegg56′s Hothead Hat and NatureGoddess’ Mocha-latte Hat, beautiful hats that clearly showcase the versatility of the pattern.
12) Aaron’s Hat Trick
Designer: Aaron Duffy
pattern source: Lion Brand Yarn Free Online Patterns
Comments: A sturdy crocheted hat. Check out the YarnCraft podcast Episode 05 :: Men Who Knit & Crochet for more background and an interview with Aaron who is obviously one impressive individual.
13) Fibonacci Frequency Hat
Designer: Firefairy
pattern source: http://fetchingknits.thruhere.net/ (Ravelry account required)
Comments: I haven’t knit this myself yet but it looks like a really interesting knit and there are lots of great versions out there. Check out moevans’ Fibonacci Hat, RockyMoreno’s and monzogary‘s hats for some impeccable color choices.
14) Sideways knit hat
Simple and masculine, here are a couple of great patterns for a sideways knit hat:
Tychus
Designer: Brooke T. Higgins
Pattern source: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/PATTtychus.html
Short rows sideways hat
Designer: Kristi Porter
Pattern source: http://home.pacbell.net/kapleo/blog/domesticspherepatterns.html
Comments: Tychus is a two-color hat, seen here and here to great effect. The imaginatively named Shortrows sideways hat (seen here) uses the same technique and has the option of incorporating a nice stitch panel to break up the garter stitch.
15) Hurricane Hat
Designer: Andrea aka sunshineknits
pattern source: http://stringinmotion.blogspot.com/2008/04/hurricane-hat-copyright-sunshineknits.html
Comments: An interesting to knit yet still guy friendly hat for a worsted weight yarn. A single skein project for the ages. h. thiessen, showcases an elegant version, also check out gertie82′s Ridin’ the Storm out here (Ravelry account required), and envy the lucky guy sporting AnneeR’s Hurricane Hat in luscious Manos del Urguay here.
16) Traditional watch cap
Designer: Erica Fire
patttern source: http://knittingwithfire.blogspot.com/2007/11/free-watch-cap-hat-pattern.html
Comments: Cushy and cosy; a very masculine toque. The two that caught my eye were knitica’s Traditional watch cap and knitcrazymom’s Mike’s holiday hat.
17) Two-Color Brioche Hat
Continuing with the Brioche theme, here are several different versions of a hat knitted in two-color Brioche stitch.
Two-Color Brioche Hat
Designer: Yana Ivy
patttern source: http://yanaknits.com/projects/two-color-brioche-hat/
Circular Bicolour Prime Rib (Brioche) Hat
Designer: Megan Mills
patttern source: http://megan.kiwi.gen.nz/BiColourHat/
Double Dutch
Designer: Arlette Thibodeau
pattern source: http://www.bellaknitting.com/shop/guys/guys.html
Comments: Comfortable and handsome looking. The major difference between these pattern versions is the appearance created by the decreasing that shapes the top of the hat. I plan to post more on this design in the future.
18) BasicSimpleLazy
Designer: John Brinegar
pattern source: http://www.yarnballboogie.com/?p=133x
Comments: Last in this list but by NO MEANS least. Simple can be deceptively tricky to execute stylishly. Judging by the versions out there, one trick to making this hat look good is to keep the small gauge and avoid the temptation to shift to a bigger gauge. The best version is from the Maestro himself, and a great version in a solid color is Andrei’s Beanie.
Posted by pascalenary 
