Knitted Tam

Shipping from 1st November

You'll most often see the tam made from woven tartan cloth, but actually the very first tams were knitted! As far back as the 1500s, Scottish bonnet makers knitted them by hand in one piece from local wool, then felted them to keep out the weather. They only ever came in a few colours, dark blue was the common colour made from natural woad dyes.

The hat takes its name from Tam o' Shanter, the hero of Rabbie Burns poem, who rode home through a stormy night in his "gude blue bonnet."

Our take on the tartan tam is a nod to where it all began. Ours is a soft knitted tam in 100% wool, made right here in Scotland, and we’ve given it the one thing the originals never had: a whole lot of colour. It's finished with a pom pom on top (or a toorie, as it was originally called). It's a cosy, cheerful nod to a much-loved classic, made to brighten up the greyest of days.

It's a wee bit niche, it's very Scottish.