Dr Who Scarf

Doctor Who Scarf

Remember Tom Baker’s iconic Dr Who Scarf? Well I made it!

While trolling the internet for free knitting patterns, I managed to stumble across this gem from www.drwhoscarf.com (who clearly state that the Dr Who Scarf patterns are the property of the BBC Worldwide Ltd and no infringement is intended or implied).  What a wonderful website!

Apparently there were a few different scarves, I only remember the ‘classic’ style that I’ve ended up making, otherwise known on the site as the Original or S12 pattern.

 I started knitting in October and now finished knitting at the end of January. Though there were some days where I didn’t get a chance to do any knitting due to the usual stuff like work, friends and family.



I know, I know I said I’d have those placemats and table runner finished and posted as my next blog, but you guessed it, I’ve been distracted once again.

In all fairness this is a nice portable project which meant that I got to work on it a lot more over the Christmas and New Year’s break while I was off out and about. Also I’ve decided to give this scarf to my little brother for his birthday which is the end of January, so I had to hurry up and finish it!

My brother and I used to watch Dr Who after school on the ABC’s The Afternoon Show, so he was pretty impressed when I told him I was making him the scarf.

As per the instructions from the site, I cast on 66 stitches and have knitted the scarf in garter stitch. All up I believe that the wool cost me just under $40 and I still have more than enough to make another scarf if I so desired…

To get the colours as close as possible to the original scarf I’ve had to resort to using some wool and others as acrylics. Unfortunately, as neither had the right colours for me to not have to mix and match. So it will be interesting how the scarf weathers in time, as I’m sure that sections of it will stretch differently.

 

 To knit the scarf, I’ve used my favourite green size 4 knitting needles, a pen, a notepad, a crochet hook (for tassel making) and various colours of wool.

 

 

 To ensure that I was up to the right colour at the right time I’ve kept a tally in a small notepad. The number in brackets behind the colour is what is required, and I’ve just tallied it off as I’ve gone. It saved me from having to continually load the pattern page on my smart phone.

 

 

 It’s taken a few solid hours just to neaten up the thread ends and stitch them back into the scarf. Hmmm, note to self, next time be kinder to myself and leave longer thread ends to work with (no matter how irritating they can be whilst actually still knitting) as it will make sewing the ends in so much easier! The instructions for how to make invisible joins were on the site, in the tips section.

 

 

To make the tassels I’ve had to consult with YouTube yet again, as I’d never made them before. The original scarf pattern calls for 12 tassels each end. I discovered I’m not a fan of making tassels, so I decided to make just enough that it would suit the scarf. So I ended up with 7 tassels each end, at approx. 2 inches apart.

 

The scarf is 12 inches or 31cm wide, 50 inches or 127.5cm long. Once the tassels were added it became 57 inches or 145cm long. Not metres and metres long, but it will stretch in time.

More Knitting...this time a strawberry tea cosy

 Strawberry Tea Cosy

I've always loved the tea cosy. I've just never had one. So after a Google search of free tea cosy patterns I came across this one which is a strawberry. I just loved it, and got busy knitting away like mad!

Okay, so I think it’s safe to say that I’ve also caught the knitting bug. It’s just too hard not to fall in love with knitting. Spending nights relaxing on the lounge after a crazy day while watching various seasons of a favourite TV series and still creating something is addictive.

This free strawberry tea cosy pattern comes from Katya Frankel. The pattern was excellent, as I’ve never knitted anything in the round before and had no trouble completing this project.

First I knitted the first side of the berry, in a red which I used 100% Australian wool from a ball that was 50 grams, with size 4 knitting needles. For the seeds of the berry, I used a beige acrylic wool 25 gram ball that I already had about the house.

For the stalk I used a small amount of 100 gram acrylic green wool. (This was as I couldn’t find the colour of green that I wanted in pure wool).

                                                                                                                                     

Once I had completed both sides of the berry, the fun really began with my first attempt at knitting in the round. I was nervous about how it would turn out, however I’m very happy with the result. I used size 4 Bamboo double ended knitting needles to complete the ‘in the round’ process of the project.

 

Apparently Bamboo knitting needles are better for working the wool. I just like the fact that they are made from a renewable resource and are not wildly expensive.

I searched around at my favourite crafty supply store for a packet of 4 double ended knitting needles and ended up getting a set of 5. (So I can only deduct that the 5^th is to use as the working needle).

 

 

 

I ended up making the stalk a little longer that what was stated in the pattern, as I thought that it would look better. If I made the same tea cosy again I’d be more careful with the seed stitches, as in some sections I think that I may have made them too tight.

While knitting for a couple of hours a day I was able to complete the tea cosy in just over a week. The tea cosy is the perfect size for my 4-6 cup teapot. I highly recommend Katya Frankel               knitting patterns. Hmm... I think that I’ll make another tea cosy for when this one is in the wash!

Green Child's Scarf

Not a great deal that I can write about this.
I've knitted a Green scarf for my son.

I cast on approx 40 stitches. I used 100grams of 8ply green acrylic wool and size 4 knitting needles.

I used green as it's my son's favourite colour. He kept asking me to check to see how long the scarf was on him (knitting needles and all!) as I progressed.

All in all the scarf is 47.5 inches or 121cms long and is just over 9 inches or 24cms wide.

I did consider making tassels, but decided
against it, as it is for a rough and tumble little guy.

I enjoyed settling back with a warm drink and watching DVDs while I knitted away. The perfect activity for winter.