In the 18th century, the city of Charlotte, NC was incorporated as “Charlotte Towne.” The city’s namesake was Queen Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Germany. Charlotte was married to King George III of England and, during her wedded life, bore 15 children, 13 of whom survived into adulthood. She must have been a robust lady!

This hat is made using a “Faux Isle” technique, as only two skeins of yarn are used for the entire project, but the variegated yarn gives the appearance of stranded knitting worked with multiple colors. My yarn choice is unique, I think, as the variegated yarn is hand-dyed Brooklyn Tweed Loft, available from Queen City Yarn. (Charlotte is also known to locals as the Queen City.) Any variegated fingering weight yarn will work well, though, as a contrast to a solid background

Some tams are quite shallow at the base, but Charlotte Towne is fairly deep--with five inches from the bottom of the band to the wide outer edge of the circle at the top. This hat is perfect for cold weather, as there is ample material to cover one’s ears. My test knitter omitted a few rows from Chart 2, as she wanted a more traditional look, but I’m happy with the somewhat slouchy appearance of this accessory.

YARN
MC - Loft by Brooklyn Tweed, 100% Wool, 275 yards, 50 grams - Pumpernickle. 1 skein.
CC - Queen City Yarns, Hand-dyed Loft by Brooklyn Tweed, 100% Wool, 275 yards, 50 grams - Charlotte Boy Friends. 1 skein.

The hat is cast on with a two-color long-tail cast on. You can find a tutorial I created here.