Child's Tam o'Shanter, 10 to 12 Years (1920): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Medium (CYC #4) wool yarn — no yarn is named for the tam; the matching slip-on uses Lion Brand Knitting Yarn
• Crochet hook
• Tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 5 mm (US H-8) — approximate; change size so the top reaches 12 in (30.5 cm) across as printed (no gauge is printed)

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sc

single crochet

sk

skip

st

stitch

sts

stitches

rep

repeat

rnd

round

inc

increase

dec

decrease

Notes before you start

• Source: "Child's Slip-on and Tam — Tam O'Shanter", Lion Yarn Book: Describing Latest Creations in Worsted Work, The Lion Yarn Co., 1920. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: Not given for the tam.; (The matching knitted slip-on uses: 3 Hanks LION BRAND Knitting Yarn; 1 Pair Knitting Needles, No. 4.). Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: The book prints no crochet lesson and no definitions of its basic stitches; it defines only star stitch (with the Auto Scarf) and a picot edge (with the Filet and Knitted Sweater). Its s. c. and d. c. are read as American terms, which are the same as modern US sc and dc, for this reason: the filet designs build open meshes out of d. c. worked on a chain ("Ch. 94 sts. and work 92 d. c. on ch.", then "46M"). Only a tall stitch (modern US dc) forms filet meshes; a British-style "double crochet" (= US sc) could not. The book is an American (New York) publication. So no stitch changes height; s. c. = sc, d. c. = dc, ch. = ch, slip st. = sl st.
• Modernisation note: Period abbreviations and wording modernised: s. c., d. c., ch., st./sts. written as sc, dc, ch, st/sts; M and B written as mesh and block; "skip" as sk; "yarn over" as yo; "fasten wool on" and "fasten yarn at" as join yarn; "fasten back in" as sl st in; "break off" as fasten off; "crochet needle" as hook; "repeat from star" as rep from *; "sts." after a chain count dropped ("Ch. 94 sts." written as "Ch 94"); ordinal row names ("Second Row") written as Row 2 (or Rnd 2 when worked in the round).
• Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation.
• Modernisation note: Hook numbers (No. 1–5, bone or amber) are 1920 makers' numbers; the book prints no diameters, so no exact metric size can be read from it. The suggested modern hook is an approximate starting point for the yarn weight, to be adjusted to the printed measurements.
• Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed anywhere in the book; work a swatch and match the printed measurements (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
• Modernisation note: Lion Brand yarns of 1920 have no exact modern equivalent. The modern CYC weights are approximations only: Lion Brand Shetland Floss (a soft, lofty yarn) as fine (CYC #2); Lion Brand Knitting Yarn / Knitting Worsted as medium (CYC #4) — the book's own advertisement page lists Lion knitting worsted in "4 oz. hanks"; 3-fold (3-ply) Saxony as super fine (CYC #1); Pompadour Wool as fine (CYC #2); Lion Brand Crochet Wool (used doubled in the sacque) as fine (CYC #2), so the doubled strand works roughly as light (CYC #3). Yardage is never printed — the book gives skeins, hanks or balls only.
• Modernisation note: Only the tam of this set is transcribed: the Child's Slip-on is knitted.
• Modernisation note: Yarn: the book names no yarn for the tam; the medium weight is chosen to match the knitted slip-on and is our assumption.
• Modernisation note: "Weave in ends" added.
• Modernisation note: Check: the ring holds 11 sc but the book says to keep "6 widenings" each round; with 11 sc the printed Rnds 2–4 give 5 or 6 repeats. Left as printed; adjust the ring to 12 sc if you want exactly 6 increase lines.
• Modernisation note: Check: "Skip 1 st. all the way around" presumably means sc in each st, skipping every other st, to draw in the band. Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.