Color Matching
I have listed my choices for yarns alongside each of my patterns.
I realize not everyone will agree with me on my color/fiber choices, or might not be able to find my suggested yarns, so I am listing my color matches so that you can choose your own yarns.
The Brown Scarves (Seasons Twelve through Fourteen)
The original BBC patterns list the following colors:
Purple
Camel
Bronze
Mustard
Rust
Grey
Greenish brown
When I visited the Scarf on Long Island, I took a OTT Light (a full spectrum light that replicates natural daylight indoors) and a Pantone color book with me and tried to match the colors as closely as I could.
Now, the Shada Scarf is faded, shrunk and partially felted. It has obviously had a long hard life. The colors I chose were what I thought the original colors would look like. I based these color choices on twenty years of knitting and personal observation of what yarn colors do over time.
The most controversial color is the green. I observed a greenish brown color that was more brown than green. This matches many old British military sweaters I have seen in collections. They start out a muddy, olive green and gradually turn more brown as they age due to sun damage and repeated washing.
So, I claim that there is a muddy, drab olive green in the scarf.
I should also mention that the bronze is the only color in the scarf that is heathered yarn. Heathered yarn is slightly variegated, giving a richer, more natural appearance.
The other colors are flat, with no variation.
My closest color matches were:
Pantone 4665 for Camel
Pantone 7512 for Bronze
Pantone 1797 for Rust
Pantone 142 for Mustard
Pantone 4485 for Green
Pantone 425 for Grey
Pantone 511 for Purple
Now, a Pantone color book will set you back at least $100
Here’s a cheap and easy substitute. Go to your local Home Depot and pick up the following color chips from the paint department:
Behr S-G-170 Licorice Stick for rust
Behr S-G-690 Delicious Berry for purple
Behr 260F-4 Sunset Beige for camel
Behr 300B-6 Glorious Gold for mustard
Behr 770F-5 Dark Ash for grey
Behr 320F-7 Fig for green
and
Glidden GLO31 Spiced Gingerbread for bronze
Take these color chips to your local yarn shop and match away!
If you can’t get access to a Home Depot, I’ll try my best to describe these colors to you:
purple– I’d call this a plum towards burgundy. Heavy on the red. Must be the darkest color on the scarf.
camel– more of a taupe, a tan with a lot of pink, much darker than I would have guessed
bronze– a red brown, rich, medium shade. Heathered if you can find it.
mustard– light mustard gold. Think ‘Frenches’ rather than ‘Grey Poupon’
rust– a medium red with a lot of orange, brick red
grey– a flat medium color with more brown than blue
greenish brown– olive drab, muddy, the brownest green you can find
Season Eighteen (The Red and Purple)
The official BBC Pattern lists the following colors:
Terra Cotta
Deep Purple
Claret
The Season Eighteen in the Doctor Who Museum in Blackpool was in pretty good shape. It had some wear and tear and some minor sun damage.
Again, I took my OTT Light and my Pantone book with me and tried to match the colors as closely as I could.
My closest color matches were:
Pantone 262C for Deep Purple
Pantone 209 for Claret
Pantone 174 for Terra Cotta
Your local Home Depot should have the following color chips in the paint department:
Behr 680D-7 Bunchberry for Deep Purple
Behr S-H-110 Wine Tasting for Claret
Behr 190D-7 Briquette for Terra Cotta
Descriptions:
Deep purple– a deep plum color. Must be the darkest of the three colors
Claret– a medium burgundy color
Terra Cotta– a reddish orange with a little pink. Very close in value to the Claret.
I hope these help!