Customer Reviews

Doctor Who Pattern Book

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I received this as a Yule gift, and can't wait to get started on some fannish projects! This book - written during Davison's term as the Doctor - includes both knitting and sewing projects. Faves include patterns to make Doctor costumes for GI Joe dolls and knitted puppet villains to pit them against, as well as charted logos for knitting sweaters. I'm also intrigued by the pattern for a TARDIS sleeping bag.

The down side is that some of the designs don't appear to be well-thought-out, some garments have been altered (like Nyssa's jacket, which has been re-imagined with weird intarsia), and frankly, nobody needs a pattern for "Tegan's Boob Tube".

On the whole, though, this is a fun pattern book that will provide me with hours and hours of geeky joy. :)

Haven't you ever wanted to dress like the Doctor or one of his assistants? Well, with this book, you can. "The Doctor Who Pattern Book" is a collection of knitting and sewing patterns for clothes and toys inspired by the "Doctor Who" TV series (this book was published in 1984, so all patterns relate to the earlier episodes of the series). Patterns include: Peter Davison's cricket jumper; Tom Baker's scarf; Nyssa's jacket; Romana's t-shirt and sailor top; Adric's tunic and anorak; Tegan's boob tube; a K-9 toy, cushion and shoulder bag; toy Cybermats; a TARDIS sleeping bag, tidy and cushion; clothes for action figures; a Yeti; a celery brooch; a console floor cushion; Nasty puppets; and several jumpers featuring the "Doctor Who" logo. I found the clothing patterns to be rather boring (many of them would only be recognized as being "Doctor Who" fashion by die-hard fans of the series), but the toy and other object patterns made the book well worth my money. I really love that K-9 shoulder bag.

The patterns in this book are definitely way too advanced for beginners. Even though some basic knitting technique instructions are provided at the front of the book, I would strongly recommend that you do not make these items as your first sewing or knitting projects (with the possible exception of the scarf or the celery brooch). Colour plates are included throughout the book. However, much to my annoyance, they are unlabeled, not in the order that the patterns appear, and not every project in the book is photographed. All sewing patterns are provided at the end of the book, but require enlarging before they can be used.

Got this book just as the BBC was shutting down many of the online patterns for Doctor who material, while you will not make a fuzzy dalek or a fuzzy ood, this pattern book is well worth it if you want to make warm soft and fuzzy critters from the Doctor Who universe. This one is authorized, and carries a lot of patterns from the classic doctor who era, mostly the Tom Baker era of the series.

This is just a fun book, and if you have a Doctor Who fan or want to make Doctor Who toys for various causes, this is a great book to get. The patterns are easy, and they are complete, so it is simple to make your own soft fuzzy knitted doctor who universe in your own living room. Hours of fun for everyone.

The most important this to say is that this book is getting a bit dated. Most things within it are fairly ugly. That being said, the book has some cool patterns. The K-9 knit toy is quite cool. All in all, a neat book to have if you enjoy knitting / sewing and like Doctor Who.