"Too bad we don't know the whereabouts of this scarf..."

December 7, 2024 9:26 AM

Tom Baker wore several scarves during his seven series as the Doctor. Each one had its own unique characteristics. Select the links above for detailed information about each scarf including patterns, knitting specifications and yarn suggestions. [via]
posted by jessamyn (23 comments total)

absolute worsted of the web!
posted by chavenet at 9:33 AM on December 7, 2024 [27 favorites]

Oh, Who would have thought these would be popular?
posted by BlueHorse at 9:50 AM on December 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

Thanks for this! I love to knit and I love to visit any website that has such a simple purpose and a usable interface.
posted by chaiminda at 10:15 AM on December 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

Mine is currently sitting right next to me on the couch. It was my partner's first big knitting project about fifteen years ago. It's stupidly long and impractical and I love it. It's been great for the frigid weather here the last week or two, and I always enjoy the occasional comments from strangers who recognize it.
posted by biogeo at 10:39 AM on December 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

I imprinted on Baker. So to date, all the other Doctors seem fakes of one kind or another.
posted by Lemkin at 10:44 AM on December 7, 2024 [12 favorites]

I designed a cowl for my shop that uses the same colors and striping pattern but is not impractically long. Which is no fun, I know, but I got sick of stepping on the damn thing and strangling myself.
posted by rikschell at 11:29 AM on December 7, 2024 [4 favorites]

I was gifted a Tom Baker scarf in college by one of my best friends. As a young Dr. Who fan he had gotten his grandmother to make him one, which she modeled on the original pattern. But then I guess he actually wanted the later season pattern, so she made him a second scarf. The first one was the one he gave to me. I’ve only ever worn it at cons as it is indeed extremely impractical. It always generated lots of compliments, for which I felt slightly guilty since I had no part in its creation whatsoever.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 11:45 AM on December 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

What does that hexagon with the numbers on the patterns mean? For example the one on the "original" pattern reads:


/.............24 S...................... \
| 32 R........4" 10 cm......US #5|
\ ............. 3.75 mm............../

I'm surmising that the US #5 and 3.75mm refer to needle size, but not sure about the others.
posted by miltthetank at 1:01 PM on December 7, 2024

What does that hexagon with the numbers on the patterns mean?

It's a gauge: in a 10cm/4 in square, there are 24 stitches and 32 rows when knitted with a US #5/3.75 mm needle. Though the needle thing is a starting point, because it depends on your personal tension. The number of stitches/rows is the important info.
posted by snakeling at 2:23 PM on December 7, 2024 [1 favorite]

milthetank, that’s the pattern gauge!

4 inches/10 cm - the size of the gauge swatch (sample)
US 5/3.75 mm - needle size used to make the swatch
24 s, 32 r - 24 stitches and 32 rows to make up that 4 inch square

So for patterns for which gauge is important (maybe less so with a Doctor Who scarf than, say, a close-fitted sweater, but a slightly different row gauge can dramatically change the length of a long scarf), you’re supposed to knit up* a little sample on the suggested needles, block it (wash and gently pin to dry), then compare your gauge to what’s suggested. If it’s too large or too small overall you might change needle sizes, if your stitch count is fine but your row gauge is off you might plan on adding more rows, etc.

*the extent to which swatching/blocking is actually necessary is a subject of much discourse in the community — some are swatch absolutists, some abstain entirely, many take it project by project

This is one of my favorite little single-use websites from Web 1.0 (1.5?) Although I overheat way too easily and don’t go to enough cons for an actual scarf, I’m planning on knitting socks in the same pattern and was using the site as a reference while shopping just a couple of weeks ago.

One thing prospective knitters might want to note is that since the last update in 2014-ish, there’s been a bit of a resurgence in chenille yarn, which was apparently used for the s18 scarf. (You can knit it with normal yarn and would probably have an easier time of it, but chenille is what gives it that velvety-shimmery-retro look.)
posted by bettafish at 2:27 PM on December 7, 2024 [3 favorites]

I thought it was meant to be a typical amateur knitting project - just knit long enough with whatever wool you’ve got, and hey! It’s sort of a scarf!
posted by Phanx at 2:28 PM on December 7, 2024 [1 favorite]

Mrs. Spatula made one for her sister, and used the scraps to make me a beanie with The Stripes. I have named it Dr. W. Hat.
posted by Rat Spatula at 3:49 PM on December 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

Back in the 80s, I made a scarf based on a Dr. Who Calendar picture. I approximated the colors with old Red Heart Worsted acrylic yarn. I counted garter ridges where I could to figure out how long to make each color section. I was immensely proud of it.

At the time, I was an IBM Customer Engineer (that's what they called the folks who repaired equipment back then.) I would proudly go into an account with the scarf wrapped two or three times around me. It was warm, and I was very nerdily happy with it.
posted by Archer25 at 5:44 PM on December 7, 2024 [7 favorites]

Friend of mine is knitting her daughter a Dr Who scarf, colour coded to the daily temperatures of everywhere she’s at this year. It’s glorious.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:04 PM on December 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

Living in a hot climate and using a wheelchair, I have no use for a Dr Who scarf but I CAN DREAM!
(I was a Tom Baker fangrl)
posted by a humble nudibranch at 3:31 AM on December 8, 2024 [5 favorites]

I made one for my husband from Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, using an earlier version of this site, I think. He wears it quite faithfully every winter and often gets compliments.
posted by BrashTech at 4:32 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

I have a full-size Who that I wear occasionally, with all the same effects mentioned above (compliments, awkward, etc.). My wife, who made it for me, also made (a) a mini-Who for herself that works just great, and (b) fingerless gloves that are part of my writing apparatus. In cold weather or when I really need mojo, they come in handy.
posted by cupcakeninja at 8:40 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

I have one of the Royal Mail 50th anniversary scarves, complete with a sewn-on patch commemorating this. It's been long enough now that I just wear it as my winter scarf and nobody seems to notice.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:53 AM on December 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

i knit one of these!
posted by HearHere at 9:14 AM on December 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

Tom Baker was my first Doctor so I've always loved him the best. And I looked several years ago to see if I could knit "the" scarf, found this page I believe, and was stunned to realize I'd been so unobservant I hadn't even noticed there was no such thing as "the" Tom Baker scarf but rather several that looked similar.

Thanks for reminding me!
posted by sotonohito at 11:18 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

I just realised we're coming up on 50 years since the first appearance of The Scarf on 28 December 1974!
posted by jjderooy at 7:56 PM on December 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

I never thought to post that here, but that's the site a friend of ours used to find a pattern to make a scarf for my husband, replacing his ancient and moth-eaten scarf from back in the day. (An absolute blessing: she made it for materials costs only. I will love her forever for that.)
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:18 PM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Mod note: [Cool! We've added this stitch niche-ry to the "It Could Happen To You" collection on the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:26 AM on December 10, 2024 [1 favorite]