Thistle Toorie Tam:

No one actually knows for certain how the thistle rose to become the national emblem of Scotland, but one legend has it that a sleeping party of Scots warriors were saved from an ambush by an invading Norse army when one of their enemies trod on the spiky plant. His anguished cry roused the slumbering warriors, who duly vanquished the invaders and adopted the thistle as their national emblem. There is no doubt that whatever its origins in folklore, the thistle is loved and symbolises the beauty and strength of Scotland. I do hope you enjoy knitting this design that celebrates the lowly but beautiful thistle.

The Tam, Tammy or Tam o’ Shanter is named after a character from one of the poems of the Scottish Bard, Robert Burns, though this style actually became popular much earlier than this. It hit the height of fashion for men at the end of the 16th century in Scotland and was very similar to the flat bonnet that was common in north-western Europe at that time.

A toorie is traditionally a tassel or bobble on a bonnet in Scotland, so a hat adorned with these was referred to as a ‘toorie’ hat or bonnet or tam. Over the years, bonnet, hat or tam has mostly been dropped and you now hear folks refer to bobbled hats as toories.

The Thistle Toorie Tam is light as a feather, yet incredibly warm because of the double thickness created by the floats of colour on the reverse side of the knitting. It can be worn with the crown draped down the side of the head, or can also be worn as a beanie.
It features a colourful corrugated rib, a band of small thistles, a band of Celtic knotwork and a flat crown, made up of 7 thistles that share a knitted thistle tassel.
The tam is knitted in the round so there are no seams. It is knitted from the rib up to the crown. You may use a set of double-pointed knitting needles or a circular knitting needle, depending on your preference, though you may still need double-pointed needles for the crown decreases and for the thistle tassel.
Only 2 colours are used at any one time and here are some floats to the rear of your knitting that need to be caught up.

Some experience in fair isle or stranded colour work is needed for this pattern, although full instructions are given for the construction methods used.

Materials:

4ply/Fingering weight Shetland wool or equivalent:

Actual amounts used are listed below, but please use this as a rough guide only, given that different brands may differ slightly. The yardage of the yarn used was 215m/236yds per 50g.
Navy: 28g Purple: 12g Green: 15g
Knitting Needles:
One set of double-pointed 3.00mm (US 2.5) knitting needles is suggested for knitting the rib on the tam.
One set of double-pointed 3.25mm (US 3) knitting needles is suggested for knitting the rest of the tam after the rib. You will also use these to knit the thistle ‘cup’ for the thistle tassel.
Alternatively, you may use circular knitting needles of the same sizes, if preferred.

Measurements (unstretched):
One size fit most:
Circumference 21 inches / 54cm by length 10 inches / 25cm

Tension:
28 stitches and 36 rows to 10cm over the pattern.

I do hope you enjoy knitting your tam and watching your thistles grow.