Neckerchief slides: What’s your go-to look?

What’s the hottest fashion accessory for fall? Neckerchief slides, of course.

Now that you can wear your Scout neckerchief at all Scouting events — even when you aren’t in uniform — you’re going to need something to keep the neckerchief in place.

Bring on the neckerchief slides. When it comes to these functional accessories, you and your Scouts are limited only by your imagination. For today’s Tuesday Talkback, I want to know: What’s your go-to look?

First, let’s take a glance at the Guide to Awards and Insignia. On neckerchief slides, the Guide says very little, leaving you lots of flexibility: “Neckerchief slides: Several official slides are available from the Supply Group. Boy-made handicraft slides also may be worn.”

In other words, you can buy one of several official slides available at your Scout Shop or at ScoutStuff.org. This is certainly the most convenient option, and the BSA-produced slides look great.

But you might consider taking Dave Mountney’s approach. Mountney, a unit commissioner in the Washington Crossing Council (serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey), prefers handmade neckerchief slides.

In an email to me, he offered several reasons why:

• Metal neckerchief slides can easily get lost “on the den leader’s living room floor or the floor of the school or church gym,” Mountney says.
• Handmade slides give the Scout ownership and are something “a Scout of any age can call his (or her) own,” he says.
• Handmade slides can be identified easily if one does fall off. No two look the same.
• A Scout wears his neckerchief “a bit neater when [he] is trying to show off the fruits of his labor,” Mountney says.

Handmade neckerchief slides

You have several options for DIY neckerchief slides, and ideas are just a Google search away.

I found plans for carving and painting your own, many taken from the pages of Boys’ Life. I found tons of great ideas on Pinterest. I found a guide for tying the turk’s head woggle, something that’ll look familiar to readers who have taken Wood Badge.

Cub Scout packs and dens across the country create neckerchief slides using craft supplies they already own. Bent pipe cleaners keep the slides attached.

Boy Scout troops take it to the next level, whittling intricately detailed slides out of wood.

Samples

Mountney sent these sample photos:

Top photo: A collection of Scout neckerchief slides carved using instructions by “Whittlin’ Jim” published in old Boys’ Life magazines was on display at the Woodcarving Merit Badge exhibit in the Summit Center at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree.