For Tom Baker’s first full serial as the Doctor, James Acheson based the character’s look on a poster painted by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1892, featuring Lautrec’s friend Artistide Bruant in a familiar scarf and hat. Acheson gave several balls of wool to expert needle-clicker Begonia Pope, who proceeded to knit every last thread into a scarf some 20 metres long. The production team loved the happy accident and, after a little shortening, it became part of the iconic costume.
Baker wore several different scarves over his seven-year tenure in the role, most with only slight variations and one strikingly unique. Fairly early on, a shorter replica of the original was created with subtle discrepancies in pattern and colour, for use in stunt work. A further scarf, a replica of this replica, was used for a few stories and some publicity shots during the making of Season 15 (1977-78). Later, in Seasons 16 (1978) and 17 (1979-80), the stunt scarf was sewn on to the end of the original, which by this time had been considerably shortened by general wear and tear, to create the looping monster seen in those stories.
Eventually, costume designer June Hudson created a totally new outfit for Baker’s last season with a luxurious burgundy colour scheme and a matching, ultra-long scarf. Sadly, this scarf was unravelled by the Doctor following his fourth regeneration.