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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Season 18 Doctor Who scarf

Season 18 scarf is finished. Why was I so slow in doing that edging? I don't know. I think I needed time to absorb the magnitude of it. LOL Once I decided to use a (sc, ch 1) across it went quickly and lies perfectly flat. No problems at all. I might also mention that I hear the original knitted scarf had a crocheted slip stitch edging.

Finished size about 7" x 169" which is just over 14'. I have seen the original knitted S18 scarf said to be 20' long and another place says 26' long, so mine is a good bit less than that. However, the original was also made with the bulky chenille yarn. I used worsted weight and Red Heart Soft is a thin worsted at that.

I chained 26 but I can't remember now if I used an H or an I hook. One of those.

For Season 18 the colors I used were:
Terra Cotta = Red Heart Soft Paprika
Deep Purple = Red Heart Soft Grape
Claret = Red Heart Soft Wine

The edging is in Paprika.

Photos...






The pattern I followed is the one listed as the official BBC pattern, posted at at Witty Little Knitter. However, the Season 18 at Doctor Who Scarf was almost identical with a one row count difference in 5 spots, hardly worth worrying over.

The original was wider and knitted. Mine is about 7" wide.

In my opinion it really makes a pretty scarf. Very long, of course, but the colors work well together and it looks nice. I could see using these colors together for a "regular" sized scarf as well.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Doctor Who S12 scarf finis

One down! Here are pics. Finished size was 7" wide. The length I measured yesterday was about 134". However, I didn't get down there (because I'd never get up again! LOL) and smooth out the wrinkles in it. As it turns out, I measured it again on my bed using my 48" stick ruler and it seems to be about 140", maybe slightly more as when you make the second and third layer there is a tiny bit that is not measured.



My sofa seating area in the picture below is about 72".


With all that in mind, I would suggest using an H hook rather than an I and yarn that supports that hook. Sport yarn would be good if you can find it in the appropriate colors. If you find acrylic sport yarn in the right colors, holler out to me as I'd like to try it myself. There are suggestions in sport wool yarn, but I'd prefer to stick with acrylic if I can. I might do a wool one at some point.





As noted in previous posts, this is a Season 12 scarf, crocheted, using the inch counts at http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/ as best I could.

The yarns I used were based on his suggestions and ended up being:

Purple = Vanna’s Choice Burgundy
Camel =  I Love This Yarn light taupe
Mustard = Bernat Waverly Gypsy Gold
Rust =  I Love This Yarn Terra Cotta
Grey = Vanna’s Choice Taupe
Greenish Brown = Bernat Waverly Bark
Bronze = Vanna’s Choice Toffee

The yarns were not exactly the same thickness, but they were all close enough not to be a bother.

My gauge was 13 sc and 16 rows = 4". For most of the stripes, the scale seemed to be 4 rows to an inch so 1.25" rows would be 5, 1.5 would be 6 and 1.75 would be 7 rows etc. I started off with 3 rows for the first inch, which was slightly less than an inch but that gave me a problem when I got to the fractions. Not all rows came out to exactly the measurement so I had to choose to bring it up to another row or keep it below the measure. Over this many rows, that can make a difference.

I used less than 1 full skein of each color for the 7" width. The original knitted scarf was about 11" wide and 11' long before blocking but was stretched out later. Can you imagine blocking 11' of scarf? That must have been a job.

This was a lot of work, but most enjoyable. I didn't even mind sewing in the tails. :-)

Also, I finished the Season 18 edging which actually went pretty fast. :-) I'll post about it tomorrow.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Doctor Who hooks

Look at me forgetting to show you this!

On Facebook one day I happened to see a newcomer to the clay hook scene, Moonshadow Threads. I asked her if she would be interested in making a TARDIS hook for me. She said she would, and after that she agreed to also make a Sonic Screwdriver. Color me happy!

Here are the finished products!


I am at this very moment working on a hat with the sonic!



The TARDIS itself is just shy of 3 1/2" long, making the hook about 6 1/4". Mine is a Boye hook, size I.

The Sonic Screwdriver is an L hook. The screwdriver is about the same length as the TARDIS.

Both work just fine!

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Monday, July 9, 2012

DW scarves

Doctor Who scarves are close to being finished. On the season 18, still just the edging to do. On the season 12, tails are being tucked, but I took photos because frankly, I mopped the hall and it was clean enough to lay down the long scarves. :-)

Here is a picture of the two scarves laid side by side. The lighting is not very good in the hall so the colors are not accurate, but you can see the difference in length. The Season 18 is the longest scarf of all those worn on the TV show but this doesn't give an accurate visual on the difference since my Season 18 is not as long as the original.


My Season 18 is about 13 1/2 feet long. I have seen the original knitted S18 scarf said to be 20' long and another place says 26' long, so mine is a good bit less than that. I can't imagine having one twice this size! I did follow the row counts, but the Red Heart Soft yarn is thin for a worsted yarn.  It will have to do, however, because I'm not making another one! I'm not as tall as Tom Baker anyway! LOL

My Season 12 is a couple inches over 11 feet, approximately 134". The Season 12 scarf "inch" notations at doctorwhoscarf.com come to 130.25" which is 10' 10.25", so I came pretty close on that one. Neither count includes fringe. I don't put fringe on my scarves because well, I don't like fringe. LOL You never can tell, though. That might change in the future.




Here are a couple of pictures of the Season 12 scarf on the sofa for perspective.



And just because he's cute, here is Jack investigating why I would put a scarf on the floor. Is it alive? It's not moving...


Just so you don't have to look back at previous posts, the colors used in the Season 12 scarf were:

Purple = Vanna’s Choice Burgundy
Camel =  I Love This Yarn light taupe
Mustard = Bernat Waverly Gypsy Gold
Rust =  I Love This Yarn Terra Cotta
Grey = Vanna’s Choice Taupe
Greenish Brown = Bernat Waverly Bark
Bronze = Vanna’s Choice Toffee

I used 1 skein of each color and had left over in each. Remember that my scarf is also not the official width so if you go with the official width I would suggest getting 2 of each Vanna's yarn in that case.

My gauge was 13 sc and 16 rows = 4". The reference I used had a knitting gauge of 16 sts and 24 rows = 4". Knitting and crochet gauges are not the same, however.

The original BBC pattern was missing a number of color stripes from this one. It stopped 5 stripes short and had two grey sections missing. It is closer to the Season 14 scarf I think. The row counts were different as well. While the official pattern was certainly adequate for its time, I am of the opinion that the online patterns today are more accurate if you want the Tom Baker look.

The colors I used in this Season 12 scarf differ in my first scarves in that they are darker shades of the colors. Which one is closer to the original? I have no idea. I've never seen the actual scarf that was used and doubt if I looked at it today it would be the same as when the show was filmed as time. Time takes its toll. I think if one were to see me wearing either of these it would be obvious to any Who fan what it was supposed to be.

For Season 18 the colors I used were:

Terra Cotta = Red Heart Soft Paprika
Deep Purple = Red Heart Soft Grape
Claret = Red Heart Soft Wine

I really think these colors performed well together, especially the paprika and win though at times I'd forget which I was using!

Rather than take up space here with my row counts, I will send them to anyone who inquires. I have two files, one with the exact row counts that I used and another with 4 rows to 1". This would come out slightly longer than mine. I'd say the difference is maybe a dozen or so rows.

What I'd like to do is find the right colors in a sport weight acrylic yarn. That would be better for my climate as well.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie