This fits more like a beanie than a traditional tam, though the construction is more classic tam. There are large floats in the pattern and you may choose to either carry the floats, use an intarsia technique or do whatever works best for you. Please read the entire pattern before you print since there is more information included then absolutely needed to complete the hat. While I used three different colors to stripe the background you may prefer to use a tonal yarn to avoid some fussy color changes. I had difficulty blocking this over a dinner plate but one of my test knitters did not.