Braided Tam

The initial design for this Tam ‘o Shanter came after my Grandmother commissioned one using wool that matched a cardigan she had knitted. (See the photo of the pink version).

I don’t like to crochet flat surfaces and needed texture to make it interesting. So when I came up with the initial design in my head, I agreed to take on the commission.

The design went through around 7 versions before I landed on this final design.

One issue with the previous version was Bulging in the center. This is still slightly noticeable with some yarns but is now tolerable. I wanted to have 6 braids (requires at least 36 stitches in a round) but wanted to minimise the number of flat (non-braid) stitches in the center. This meant getting to 36 stitches in as few rounds as possible. The workaround is to start braiding when I could do 3 of them and introduce the other 3 when the number of stitches became sufficient.

Another issue was extreme curling. This is because the braids are shorter than regular stitches (likely the result of front-post stitches being shorter and curl into the braid). Adding extra increases in every other round combated this sufficiently and the curling is fully resolved after the decreases, which are effectively forcing it to curl in the opposite direction.

Different yarns can show off the braids better than others as a cleaner / less fuzzy yarn that has a better stitch definition.

The piece could be done in different colors with the braids being a different color to the flat sections. However because it is done in the round this would require 6 balls (or well-measured strands), long dangling loops, or lots of weaving in ends.

Lastly, it is possible to exclude the headband for a more beret style and adjust the number of rows as required.