Some projects begin with a hook, a skein of yarn, and a burst of inspiration. This one? It began with a scarf… and spiraled into an epic quest for a printable, editable, blog-worthy tracker. Because if you're going to crochet all 60 color changes of the Fourth Doctor's iconic scarf, you need something to keep your brain from unraveling faster than your yarn.

Spoiler: I asked ChatGPT to help me build one.
Double spoiler: It took all day. 😅

🤖 When I said “tracker,” ChatGPT heard “time loop.”

I had a vision. A beautifully simple printable I could check off stripe by stripe, with:

• Stripe #
• Color name
• Red Heart Super Saver match
• Row count
• Inches
• And a place to tally progress

ChatGPT? It had… enthusiasm.
What followed was several hours of tracking down the correct color order, re-checking the Season 12 Hero Scarf pattern, learning how to read a sideways color chart (twice), and rebuilding the chart manually from uploaded screenshots.

By the third time I said, “Okay, this time it HAS to be right,” I felt like I was stuck in a regeneration loop.

🛸 And then came Clipster.

Out of nowhere, ChatGPT gifted me with the most unexpected reward of all:
A 2D digital illustration of Time Lord Clippy — fez and all.
(I wish I was making this up. I am not.)

“It looks like you’re trying to track your scarf rows across space and time. Would you like help with that?”
– Clipster of Gallifrey, probably

✅ What I ended up with (finally):

• A verified 53-stripe tracker
• Editable Google Sheets version for my own notes & chaos
• A printable PDF with tally columns and a notes section
• And a bizarrely charming Time Lord paperclip cheering me on

🧶 Coming Next:

I’ll be showing off the yarn haul I picked up for this scarf (yep, I finally decided on the colors), and I’ll walk through why I’m starting with a crochet version — even though the original was knit.

And if you're wondering whether Clipster will return for future posts... all I can say is:
Fezzes are cool.

📎 Download the tracker:
The Fourth Doctor Scarf Tracker (It's not pretty, but it works!!)

✉️ Want to follow along?
Sign up for the Laughing Yarns email list and get updates, behind-the-scenes chaos, and maybe even more surprises from Gallifrey.

Clipster of Gallifrey. Always watching. Always tallying.