men

whipup diy gift guide: 30 gifts for the menfolk

by kath_red on December 16, 2009

Making gifts is part of our holiday tradition and while it does take time – it is most satisfying – try to give a couple of handmade gifts this season – here are some ideas for the menfolk in your life – husbands, brothers, grown up sons, fathers etc…

1. Lovely handmade tie – co-ordinate their tie with your outfit – or screenprint a groovy design onto plain fabric.
2. men’s socks for giving - another great purlbee project [see pic above]
3. Another great pair of socks on knitty – thuja by Bobby Ziegler.
4. evil mad scientist’s 5 minute ipod cozy
5. knitted ipod cozy pattern
6. placemat laptop cozy hack
7. felt fold out laptop cozy
8. handmade wallet
9. knit felted satchel
10. trashbag messenger bag
11. handmade cloth slippers
12. fisherman’s pants (my hubby loves wearing these – he will be getting a new pair this year)
13. another ipod/iphone cosy
14. remote control pillow pattern
15. r2d2 beanie pattern
16. sew a messenger bag – its easier than you might think
17. customised t-shirt – screenprint tutorial
18. make a fused plastic belt
19. last minute gift – diy decorated moleskin
20. make a notebook
21. make a soft wraparound notebook
22. typographic wooden coasters
23. bike lunch bag – another evil mad scientist project
24. water bottle holder
25. runnin’ beanie from woolly wormhead
26. sew a kindle cover
27. make a papier mache boat and go sailing
28. sew a checkerboard
29. make a simple quilt
30. wristwarmers

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Man-broidery

by contributor on February 6, 2009

in Fibre+Needlework

About the author: Jenny Hart is an artist, designer and author living in Austin, Texas. She and her work have appeared in Rolling Stone, Lucky, ReadyMade, Bust, Real Simple, InStyle and The New York Times. Her websites are www.SublimeStitching.com and www.JennyHart.net

Man-broidery. Boy-broidery. Guy-stitching. Bro-broidery. Whatever you call it, guys are (and always have been) doing it. You know, embroidering! Wielding the needle! Marking the muslin! Poking the pillowcase! Splitting the stitch! Which is fantastically awesome. I say: there needs to be more men embroidering. And it seems that there are.

After all, needlework tends to be seen as belonging to the ‘gentler arts’ related to home and fashion, executed by women in a domestic setting. And, no matter how spectacular the results, no matter how many hours of patience and work, it seems to be appreciated by the few. Until men do it! Then we’re extra happy about it. And that’s okay, because traditionally in this country, men are not found quietly working over their hoops.

One of the best-known, living legends of embroidery is Monsieur François LeSage, whose work has playfully and beautifully adorned haute couture for decades. LeSage still presides today over Ecole LeSage in Paris where anyone (for a price) can enroll and learn some of the finest techniques of embroidery.

But don’t take my word for it, men are stitching it for themselves and here are some fine examples of men-who-stitch: