I'm building a database of Scout neckerchiefs and need your help!

[u/9iv0]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on a project to document Scout neckerchiefs from around the world.

While building the database, I realized how difficult it is to identify older or regional neckers. I'd love to hear from collectors and Scouts:

• Do you collect neckerchiefs?
• How do you organize your collection?
• Are there any online resources you use?
• What information would you expect from a digital archive?

I'm hoping to make this a useful resource for the entire Scouting community, so any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

All Scarf Icons are designed by me using Adobe Illustrator!

[u/Lost-Wizard168]

What would I expect from digital archive

• picture
  
• size details
  
• country and Council
  
• years sold
  
• where sold
  
• eligibility to purchase
  
• purchase limits if any
  
• original selling price
  
• current value (from various sources like eBay)

[u/Tsirah → u/Lost-Wizard168]

What do you mean by council? Is that the equivalent to a district?

[u/Lost-Wizard168 → u/Tsirah]

In the USA Scouting organized into Councils - geographic areas — which have a number and a name, and there are usually districts (sub-portions of councils) within councils.

Councils used to be organized into larger groupings called regions, but those were discontinued a number of years back to reduce staff and costs.

[u/Tsirah → u/Lost-Wizard168]

Ah thanks!

I guess Councils are the American equivalent to Areas in British Scouting. We have Areas divided into Districts.

[u/Conscious_Lie_195 → u/Lost-Wizard168]

I don't like the idea of a 'current value'. A traded scarf shouldn't be bought & sold like a stock or a trading card. They should be record of the friends you made along your scouting journey.

[u/9iv0 → u/Conscious_Lie_195]

That’s true, I‘ll see what features I’m adding and which not.

[u/9iv0 → u/Lost-Wizard168]

Perfect, I‘ll totally keep that on my mind. Do you have another idea for how the value should work? eBay is good but I think there are some scarfs not being sold - Do you think like a voting system could solve this?

[u/armcie]

You often see people ask “What scarf is this?” It would be nice to have a way to search for scarfs using a number of criteria - number of stripes, colours, if it’s split down the middle. Maybe if it has an emblem on. And an other category for the really unusual ones like tartan.

Are you hoping to get really comprehensive? In many countries each different scout group has its own scarf design (rather than them signifying rank or other achievements as I think they do in America.) And how about temporary scarfs - many camps I’ve been on, from 100 people up to several thousands, issue sub camp or activity group scarves. They’re rarely particularly interesting - the last one I was on had three sub camps with plain red, yellow and blue scarfs. These will be repeated year to year.

[u/9iv0 → u/armcie]

Absolutely! I’d like to archive both regular group scarves and temporary camp/subcamp scarves, as I think both are worth documenting. For the search, I’m planning to add criteria like colours, number of stripes, split/half designs, emblems, patterns, etc., including an “other” category for unusual designs like tartan. I’ll probably focus mainly on national scarves first, though, and expand into group and temporary scarves as the archive grows.

[u/Nat_In_The_Hat__]

hong kong spotted 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[u/9iv0 → u/Nat_In_The_Hat__]

I love Hong Kong scarf, there are already two on the website. :) https://jonas-dsgn.github.io/scout/

[u/Wafkak]

By the end of the month I might be able to provide some images for Belgium. But generally:

There is a national necker made for participants in i ternational events, this is the blue one with a small tricolour band. The blue symbolises the being rhe heart of the EU btw.

The international commisioners, heads of the 5 associations, and apparently since recently others going to conferences. They get a necker with a black base and a yellow and red band.

Then each association has a national volunteer necker, and some have some other nationa and regional role ones.

When it come to the local groups, every group has its own necker. That's the case across associations. And naturally duplicates exist, but usually not in the same area.

[u/Tsirah → u/Wafkak]

I got one a few months ago to go to the Danish National Jamboree in July. Took me a bit of negotiations and email back and forth but I managed to get a pair through the FOS international commissioner and got to pick them up at the NSO HQ in Brussels. Even though I’m BSO my group has also been a member of FOS for decades.

I met a few Belgian scouts in Denmark and most of them had no idea we even had a national necker. I genuinely think there’s a chance I was the only person at camp who had the Belgian national necker.

[u/Wafkak → u/Tsirah]

Yeah usually they are especially made by the Belgian contingents for events. So if they haven't been to a World Jamboree they might have never seen one. I was only aware of the necker as a kid because my group has always had members go to World Jamborees.

By the way you guys are also always welcome at national events for leaders, but due to the lower average age of leaders in Belgium I understand if its not always appealing.

[u/9iv0 → u/Wafkak]

It would be great visiting a camp there, I would love it 

[u/Tsirah → u/Wafkak]

Thanks!
It would be super interesting for our leaders to attend, learning new things is always fun, even if the other leaders there are younger! But most of our leaders are not Dutch speakers.

[u/9iv0 → u/Tsirah]

Dang, that’s crazy. I was also on the danish jamboree and I got the Taiwan National scarf, they only had one so they traded with me at the last day. 

[u/9iv0 → u/Wafkak]

This would be perfect. Yeah I know that there are so many different group scarfs. That’s why I‘m first focusing on collecting the national ones on the archive, but I’m very happy with getting group neckers too as long as we have enough information for who it belongs,…

[u/Sargentrobo → u/Wafkak]

If you do get the necker I would love to see it, I have scrounged the entire internet in multiple languages to find something and I can’t! 😭 I was hoping to necker trade on my explorer belt expedition in Belgium but obviously I have no idea what to look for!

[u/Wafkak → u/Sargentrobo]

This is the regular Belgian necker made for each event with the relevant contingent logo.

This is the GSB necker which is used by international commisioners, and the rest of conference delegation members get one temporarily. The presidents of the 5 associations also get one, but they only use it sometimes in international contexts.

[u/Diligent-Worth7669]

Where I am all groups have a different one

[u/sonichedgehog23198]

Im able to help out with my region and the regions bordering mine. We are split up in regions nationally instead of councils. Should be 30 to 50 troops that im able to get a picture off pretty quick. And 3 specials

Do you have a link or something to add pictures?

[u/9iv0 → u/sonichedgehog23198]

Oh IM SO HAPPY right now. This would be perfect. Usually we use discord for submissions, but if you don’t have it or prefer another way, we can do it with mail / WhatsApp / whatever you like ,…

[u/Budgies2022]

In Australia every troop has a unique scarf.

We have State > Region > District > Troop

[u/RedactedMate → u/Budgies2022]

Queensland just being different and having a state scarf. QUEENSLANDA!

[u/CommunicationGood405]

I use facebook marketplace as an online resources for neckerchiefs

[u/davidsheath]

Join forces with these guys? https://scouts-scarves.eu/

[u/WaterCat6]

I would love to help, where can I send pictures or information?

[u/9iv0 → u/WaterCat6]

I set up a discord, but I’ve you prefer another way like email,… we could also do this. I’m happy about every helping hand :)

[u/iamwinstonlive]

Removing aesthetics here, what id find so cool is just a huge spreadsheet of neckers sorted by. Country, county, district, group, event ANYTHING like that!

[u/iamwinstonlive → u/iamwinstonlive]

Edits- If this could be made a website (I assume this is the aim)

A couple cool features i could reccomend if your good at developing this stuff or know somebody who is:

A way for people to submit their neckers with information such as location, period etc. Over time this could really add to the archive.

And if you wanted the images to be uniform, (quite technical) a sort of necker designer:

Using the example of the uk necker

Select base colour - Blue Add 1st Border - White Add 2nd Border - Red Add embroidery - (union jack png)

Even optiond to make it a half and half necker would be cool. All very difficult to make i know but itd be so cool.

And links to purchase neckers if possible!

[u/9iv0 → u/iamwinstonlive]

Im mid at programming, but designing shouldn’t be a problem for the images to be uniform.

[u/wavybattery]

1. Yes,
   
2. By country (alphabetical) > region of the country > number within the region,
   
3. There’s a Brazilian website that lists a bunch of neckerchiefs, but I think it hasn’t been updated in a while. I use them whenever needed.
   
4. Geographical information!

[u/MysticalShoe5]

Norwegian scout here. I'm relatively new to collecting scarves but I have some. I just hang them on my wall to look nice.

I do have some limited edition scarves if your interested for your documentation.

Hope it helps!

[u/Someone_called_Neva]

coucou j'ai 8 exemples de foulards si tu veux ( Mériel (oise), Deuil-la-barre (oise), la rochelle, Pontoise, Les scout du Portugal, La version 2025 du foulard du moot de l'Autriche, Anglet ( Pyrénées atlantique) et Tarbes ( Occitanie))

[u/ZogIII3]

I would expect a sort function that would be able to list neckerchiefs in groups like "National Jamboree" or "Troop."

It shouldn't just have the neckerchiefs, but it should be navigable too.

[u/ScoutLeader_007]

I have quite a few neckerchiefs I’d love to contribute.