A toque (also spelled "tuque", particularly in Quebec; pronounced two-k') is a simple brimless knit hat, sometimes called a watchcap, stocking cap, or beanie outside Canada. Ubiquitous and entirely necessary, toques are an integral part of the wardrobe of nearly every Canadian, particularly those in colder climes. Naturally, in accordance with their widespread usage, toques have become an icon of Canadian-ness; though disparaged by those who do not understand winter, the humble toque is revered by the rest of us, even if we forget about them buried in drawers and only remember to pull them out during cold snaps.
The origins of the word are mysterious. Some historians and etymologists have linked it to the Spanish toca, which was a type of close-fitting hat; another theory is that the word is somehow Celtic, but the most accepted idea is that "toque" originated in French Canada, as it is conspicuously absent in early French dictionaries from Europe.
Historically, headwear similar to the toque was seen in Europe as early as the 12th century. At that time, knitting was not yet common practice, and therefore these particular hats were woven, similar to the Jewish skullcaps or yarmulkes, but made larger to provide protection from the elements.
A smallish scrap of red knitted fabric, unearthed in Newfoundland's Red Bay, attributed to a nearby Basque whaling station, and dated to 1588, is the earliest known North American example of a toque. However, it was not knitted here -- it came from Europe, and arrived in the New World with the fishermen who made their living from the Grand Banks.
The hat was found in a grave, mostly preserved by a bog along with a number of other articles of clothing; but it is the only piece that was knitted. The long fishermen's stockings as well as the rest of the workmanlike ensemble unearthed with the toque were woven of wool cloth.
This last might be explained away by the fact that knitted hats were commonplace much earlier than were knitted socks and stockings. Legislation in England under Queen Elizabeth I saw to the prosperity of a professional cap-knitters' guild through the 16th century, while professional knitters of stockings languished with only moderate demand for their goods until fashion made stockings a necessity a century later.
Despite its age, the Red Bay toque looks the same as nearly any modern-day toque. Without adornment, it was evidently made for warmth rather than for fashion; and without a brim, its shape is precisely the same as a hat that one might purchase in a shop today in St. John's or in Banff.
At any rate, at some point after their arrival in North America toques became popular amongst the voyageurs and coureurs du bois who roamed the continent's interior in search of furs for trade. By the 1800s the trend had spread to the farmers of Lower Canada, with different colours appearing in different regions: during his travels in North America, Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm observed that Montrealers wore blue toques, Quebecers wore red, and those in Trois-Rivières wore white.
The 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion provided the first opportunity for the toque to serve as a symbol: here it came to represent French Canadian nationalism, associated by colour with the bonnets rouges that were seen as symbols of liberty during the French Revolution.
More recently, a red-and-blue striped toque was sported by Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore during an outdoor ice hockey game at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in 2003, over top of his helmet. It was the talk of the national media for many days following, and cued a massive (on the Canadian scale) revival in toque popularity. The collective nostalgia of an entire country connected with childhoods spent playing hockey on backyard ponds saw to it that toques in Canadiens colours sold out of nearly every shop nationwide.
In the past all toques were woollen; knitters then knew that wool was the most appropriate material for winter attire, because it keeps its insulating properties even when wet. Sadly, this scrap of folk wisdom has been lost to the ages, and most modern toques are knitted by machine out of any number of man-made fibres.
Fortunately, knitting one's own toque is not a particularly daunting task. It even goes quickly, worked up with thick wool and large needles; for fledgling knitters, a toque is a gentle introduction to knitting in the round using double-pointed needles.
Unfortunately, gauge is crucial to the success of a hand-knitted toque, so knit up a swatch first; also measure the circumference of the head for which the hat is intended with a tape measure. Calculate the number of stitches to cast on by multiplying the head measurement (rendered in inches for ease) by the number of stitches per inch achieved in the swatch. This number can be rounded creatively to fit whatever stitch pattern you have in mind for the body of the toque -- a multiple of four works nicely for 2x2 ribbing.
Cast on, and work straight in stocking stitch, ribbing, or otherwise -- remember that a toque has no brim -- until the knitting is somewhere between five and eight inches long from beginning to end, depending on desired height; then decrease sharply with a round of knit-two-togethers, work a round plain, then continue alternating the two until you've decreased to a suitably small number of stitches (six, maybe, or eight, give or take several). To finish, run the end of the wool through the remaining stitches twice before fastening it off.
Sources:
Heidorn, Dr. Keith C. The Weather Doctor's Weather Almanac: Of Toques and Earmuffs. http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2002/alm02dec.htm
Hickey, Gloria. Picking Up Lost Stitches: History of Knitting in Newfoundland. Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. http://www.craftcouncil.nf.ca/magazine/content.asp?id=1&con=181
Zimmerman, Elizabeth. Knitting Without Tears. Pittsville, WI: Schoolhouse Press, 1971.
The Red Bay toque was restored by workers at Ottawa's Canadian Conservation Institute -- presumably it can be seen there, though ongoing renovations to the building in which the institute is housed might make viewing it a monumentally difficult task. | 
