Last week I had NO idea how to crochet. Thanks to the wonders of internet tutorials, plus a trip to a craft store and a couple of hours of time… here’s a DIY Tom Baker / Doctor Who inspired cowl! Make it a little longer and add a twist to make an infinity scarf.
This is more of an idea-inspiration post instead of a how-to, since I am the farthest thing from a crochet expert, and have no place writing a tutorial on it. But I’ll tell you what I did.
Do an image search for “Doctor Who Scarf”. Above is an example of what will come up. Tom Baker had a bit of variation in his numerous scarves, and it’s way too hard to pick just one scarf to emulate for a shortened version. I re-watched a few of my favorite episodes, looked at some photos online, and just picked my favorite stand-out colors from his iconic scarf collection. Green, blue, tan, purple, yellow, brown, burgundy, and orange. This is definitely more of an homage than a replica! Head to your local craft store and grab some yarn + a crochet hook or two. For my test scarf, I just bought the cheapest yarn possible. My second Tom Baker cowl (almost done!) I made with much nicer, softer yarn, since it is a gift.
This project is of course assuming you love the Tom Baker scarf and want a more manageable version for yourself. I started this as a gift idea for a good friend, but ended up keeping this prototype version for myself while I make hers with better yarn. If this is a gift for a non-Tom Baker loving Whovian [gasp!], then I would just make it Tardis blue with a few white stripes.
If you’re like me and have NEVER crocheted anything in your life, start watching a bunch of tutorial videos. I literally just searched “How to crochet”, “Beginner crochet”, “easy crochet tutorial”, etc etc. I watched maybe a dozen videos, then dove right in. I can’t really say I had a favorite video, since almost all of them had something worthwhile to see.
I went with single crochet, since I like the look of it for this style of scarf. I used a 5.5 hook, I think (I bought a set of crochet hooks with several sizes). Each row is 25 little stitch guys across, which isn’t that wide since this yarn isn’t bulky.
I just kept on going, alternating stripe size, until wrapping the length around my neck felt like a good size for a cowl. Totally up to you, and how much drape you want.
Since this Doctor Who cowl wouldn’t really feel like a Doctor Who scarf if it didn’t have fringe, I closed up the circle by attaching one end to the other with super basic fringe. If you want to make this more of a Doctor Who infinity scarf vs a cowl, just keep going with the length, and add a twist into it before you close it up.
And that’s it! Here’s me wearing it. Yes, I am awkward and hate having my picture taken.
That’s officially my what-I-look-like debut on this blog. And since that is the first intro to me, I’ll throw Cam in here too.
We were shooting in Malibu last week (Merry Christmas from LA!), which is why we were a little late in our posting schedule. At least I got to wear my cool new Doctor Who cowl scarf while working!
What do you think? It took about three hours in total, but I had to consult tutorials a few times, so if you already know how to crochet, it will be less.
My second attempt at this is looking a little better, because I’m using different yarn and a slightly larger hook. If it comes out awesome, I’ll update this post with pics. 🙂
In other news, we just joined Instagram. So far we’ve been posting some of our work-in-progress photos (like our Mario Star tree topper, LEGO minifigure ornaments, Portal Companion cube ornaments, and my DIY Star Trek TNG Picard stocking).
Deb N Cats says
December 23, 2013 at 4:58 pmNot bad, not bad at all for someone who knew nothing before you decided to take on this project. I’ll warn you. Once you see the ease of crochet, you can get hooked. (Pun very much intended.) It can take me almost as long to pick the yarn as it does to do the project. Congratulations.
ournerdhome says
December 23, 2013 at 8:08 pmThank you! I definitely have a lot to learn (I think in some places I accidentally only stuck the hook through the front part of the stitch? Plus I’m having trouble with making the loops consistent), but so far it’s a lot of fun! I had no idea it would be such a quick process. I threw a couple of movies on TV, and was done with the project before the movies were over. 🙂
Ella says
December 23, 2013 at 6:01 pmI have yet to get into crochet (kind of afraid of the addiction factor that knitting already caused). Following you in IG now!
ournerdhome says
December 23, 2013 at 8:11 pmYes, it seems completely addictive! Knitting is on my things-to-learn list now too. I had no idea of the magic of the yarn aisle at Joann, but it seems like a world of possibilities, haha.
Lisa says
December 27, 2013 at 3:15 amWow, very impressive! The first thing I crocheted was a wonky green granny square that is too ugly to show anyone! ~___^ I really like your scarf though, you get the awesomeness of the Tom Baker scarf without the commitment! ^___^
ournerdhome says
December 30, 2013 at 9:47 amThanks! I initially wanted to make an actual Tom Baker scarf, but how in the world can anyone manage with a scarf dragging on the ground! Haha. I figured this is at least wearable.
Tanya says
October 15, 2014 at 7:16 amYour cowl looks great and I like the colors you used! I want to make maybe 3 or 4 of these for gifts, and I was thinking of making them a longer cowl so you could wrap it around twice if you wanted to. I also want to find the original colors (which I may already have a print out of in my patterns stash) of the Tom Baker scarf and use those. I had thought about making a half-sized length scarf of the original, so it still had the colors but smaller and I may still try one of those. So many projects I want to make, I need to get my rear in gear! 🙂 Happy crocheting or knitting!
Jenn McClure says
January 25, 2015 at 11:53 amYou made my day when I found this post! I have been working on and off on a full sized Tom Baker scarf and it’s taking me forever! This has inspired me to try to make my own smaller version of the scarf like you did! I have to work tonight and figured that I might be able to get a large part, if not all of the scarf done! I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!
hidingfromfam (@hidingfromfam) says
April 24, 2016 at 5:08 pmThat is seriously the cutest thing ever! I picked up crochet over the winter to stave off the winter blues and am amazed at how quickly I’ve progressed. And look what you did after only a week! I think I’ll make about a dozen of these for gifts this Christmas. Thank you and again: SOOOO CUTE!
Sharlene Glennie says
November 16, 2016 at 2:01 pmI can’t crochet (or knit for that matter) but have asked my aunt if she’d make it for me. Would you mind telling me how many rows yours ended up being? I tried to count from the picture and I think I counted 46ish…?
Johanna says
December 7, 2016 at 2:05 pmOoh how fun! I love it! What a great idea!! I can’t believe you just started crocheting, wonderful job! I’ve tried a billion times, and my crocheting never comes out that even and without holes.