Knit a Pretty Tam in Two Colors

There are all sorts of fun hat knitting patterns out there, but I will admit to mostly having knit beanies throughout my knitting career. But there are lots of other fun shapes that allow you to bring different kinds of colorwork to the party, like a tam.

Tams are similar in shape to berets, and both are fun to stitch. The best part is that you can fit a fun circular pattern on the top, which is harder to do on a hat with less real estate.

This Fair Isle Tame from Lion Brand Yarn has a fun design on the top that kind of reminds me of a compass. On the sides of the hat you will find a round of diamonds with little floral shapes inside.

The design is worked in two colors of DK/light weight yarn. The pattern comes in one size, with a circumference at the ribbing of about 20 inches/50.8 cm, which is meant to fit an adult woman but should be a little stretchy to fit a variety of heads.

It’s worked from the bottom up in the round and the colorwork is worked from charts. The pattern is rated for intermediate knitters because of the colorwork and the charts. But it looks like it would be a lot of fun to make!

The pattern for this fair isle tam is free from the Lion Brand website. You can also buy a kit that includes the yarn (you’ll just need one ball each of the two colors in the yarn suggested) and other tools if you need them.

If you’re ready to learn how to knit fair isle or stranded knitting (there is technically a difference but this pattern calls itself fair isle so we’ll go with that), I’ve got a tutorial over on my website, Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

If your family is the sort to do a turkey trot for Thanksgiving, or even just to take family pictures, you’ll want to get started knitting up some Turkey Sack Hats with this pattern from Underground Crafter.

The pattern uses super bulky yarn and is rated easy. It’s knit flat but there are a few skills in here around the shaping of the eyes, which includes changing colors, working bobbles and doing a wicked purl 3 together decrease. Twice.

But that’s all in one row, and the rest of it is pretty simple. The beak is worked separately and sewn on, and the side of the hat is stitched up to make it into a hat.

What’s great about this one is that it comes in 10 sizes, ranging from newborn to adult large, so you really can make one for everyone in the family. And because it uses super bulky yarn you can knit a bunch pretty quickly if that’s a thing you’d like to do.

It’s also fun because you could use this base pattern to make different animals or for different holidays. Make it all in orange and stitch on a jack o’lantern face for Halloween, or make a white one that’s a snowman, for example.

In any style this would also be a fun gag gift for that person in your life who has everything or doesn’t want gifts, or if you do a secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange at work or elsewhere.

And make sure whether you’re making it a turkey or some other character that you include the pom poms at the top! They’re just so cure and a great way to add a bit more color to the project, and they’re easy to make. (See also: ways to make a pompom with yarn.)

You can grab the free pattern at the Underground Crafter website.

[Photo: Underground Crafter]

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