What size scarf do I need?

For covering your hair, a 90cm square. For tying at the neck, a 70cm square or a small rectangle. For wrapping warmly, a rectangle of at least 180cm. A scarf under about 180cm will not tie convincingly at the waist.

Scarves are sold in a handful of standard sizes and the right one depends entirely on what you intend to do with it — which is why so many end up unused.

Squares. The classic 90cm square — about 35 inches — is the headscarf size: folded corner to corner it makes a triangle big enough to cover the head and tie under the chin, and it also works folded into a band. A 70cm square, roughly 28 inches, is for the neck — large enough to knot, too small to cover hair properly. Anything at 50cm, about 20 inches, or below is a neckerchief and nothing else.

Rectangles. For warmth you want at least 180cm long, roughly 70 inches, which is the length that goes twice round the neck — the only configuration that actually keeps wind out. A large wrap or stole runs 200cm, near 79 inches, and up, and that is the size that stays on bare shoulders in the evening. Below about 160cm, some 63 inches, a rectangle is decorative only.

Tying at the waist needs real length, around 180cm, because the knot consumes far more than people expect.

One material note. Silk slips on clean hair and cotton grips, so if a scarf is for covering your hair rather than decorating your neck, cotton is the more practical fiber regardless of size.

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