Shawls are for boys, too.

Shawls are, as a friend once said, a "very knitterly thing." You don't really see shawls out in the public sphere, unless they are worn by knitters, or little old ladies from the Old Country. I actually didn't really see the appeal of shawls until I started knitting in earnest. But now... Oh, shawls, how I love you!

The great thing about a shawl is its versatility. I wear Dover Castle as my Winter scarf. It has more surface area than a typical scarf, so it can cover more of my neck. Plus, I love the way the little point of the shawl kicks out, even when I have it wrapped around my neck like a scarf. It's just a little touch of sass that makes me smile. And shawls don't have to be just for Winter. Knit up in a lighter weight yarn - like cotton, or Hempathy, or Rowan Lenpur Linen - they can be the perfect little shoulder cover for a breezy evening, or a super air conditioned office.

But I digress. The main point is that typically, shawls seem to be a decidedly feminine accessory. It's not hard to see why. Most of them are very lacy, and even when knit in a bold or "masculine" color, "lacy" does not evoke images of conquering mountains or chainsawing huge logs in half or whatever other manly imagery you can come up with. (Apparently, when I think "manly", I think "lumberjack".) However, and I don't know if this is a recent phenomenon or not, but there seem to be an increasing number of not-lacy shawls making the knitting rounds. Some of these are designed by men - Stephen West, for example - but not necessarily all of them. Enter the shawl-for-a-guy.

There are so many great things about shawls-for-men. First, there are myriad ways to make it a structurally and visually interesting shawl without lace. Second, there are millions of color possibilities to explore - even pink can be masculine in the right setting! Third, you get the size, coziness factor and fun of knitting a shawl without it being a feminine accessory. I recently made Clockwork (by Stephen West) for Allen and it is fabulous. He loves that he can wrap it around his neck a million times and cuddle down into it when the bitterly cold wind blows in his face during his morning commute, and I absolutely loved picking out colors and knitting this fabulous, uh, I mean manly, neck warmer.

So, if you are a knitter and you are looking for a manly scarf to make for your significant other, don't be afraid of shawls! You know how much fun they are to knit! I would recommend calling it a "scarf" around the house though. Just to keep up the manly facade.