How to tie your scout scarf ?
If there’s one essential item for anyone claiming to be a true scout, it’s the scarf!
Yes, it’s often thanks to this little piece of fabric that one recognizes a group of scouts when they cross paths.
So today, we’re teaching you: the techniques for tying your scarf like a pro, as well as its history and some interesting tips.
What knot for my scout scarf?
For the laziest among us, a simple knot that stupidly holds both ends is sufficient, but there are others for whom a nice scarf knot is a super important detail to be on top with their uniform. And on this subject, I’ve identified the 3 most common scarf knots among scouts.
Firstly, the traditional method, the one Baden Powell himself used. It’s a ring, usually constructed using a leather cord (or whatever you prefer) formed into a knot known as a ‘turk’s head knot’ which tightens both ends of the scarf together.
Then we have the slip knot, certainly one of the simplest and most commonly used today. I’ll give you the steps to achieve it.
Slip knot:
- Lay the rolled scarf on a table
- Pass the left end over the right one, crossing them
- Still with the left end, pass it underneath the right one
- Bring the end of the left end up and pass it inside the scarf from the front
- Bring the left end back through the loop formed by the first steps
- Tighten it and adjust it
And finally, a bit harder to achieve but much more stylish, the square knot also called the friendship knot.
Square knot:
- Put the scarf around your neck
- Cross the two ends of the scarf
- Pass the right end under the left one
- Hold it like that with one hand, and with the other, bring up the end of the left end and pass it through the large loop of the scarf from behind.
- Normally, a small loop has formed thanks to the left end
- Place the end of the left end between this loop and the right end and hold it
- Take the right end, pass it over the left and then through the loop
- Tighten it and adjust it.
Did you know? Where does the scarf come from and what is it used for?
You might already know this, but just as a reminder, it was Baden Powell who is the founding father of the scout movement. It’s to this great gentleman that we owe almost everything about the scout movement up to today. So it’s no surprise if I tell you that he also envisioned the scout scarf as we still know it. As early as 1907, for his very first camp, Baden Powell established the scarf as the main element of the uniform.
Plain, two-colored, patterned, with or without edging, there are plenty of types depending on the countries and federations. Here, it’s often two-colored, and each unit chooses its colors. This allows the scarf to maintain a sense of belonging to a local group but also to differentiate between different units.
In addition to its main function, the scarf can have plenty of different uses and can even save you in certain situations. Just for you, here’s a little list of alternative functions of the scarf that can help you in camp and beyond!
- A classic : blindfolding someone for a game or activity
- Protecting your head from UV rays when you don’t have a cap
- Serving as a tourniquet or emergency bandage in case of injury
- Lighting or reigniting a fire through ventilation movements
- Taking hot pots out of the fire without burning your fingers
- Coarsely filtering any liquid
- Protecting a fragile object
- Making a trap system to catch food
If you’ve followed my advice, it means you have some connection, whether close or distant, with the scouts or youth movements. Photoscout is definitely made for you! Feel free to explore the offer and browse the website.