Jelly - I think crochet is great for teaching yourself, because it's much easier to go back and fix mistakes than it is in knitting
Try
http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/crosti.html for the basic stitches, or pick up the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework at your thrift store (I always see it at Goodwill).
Obsessed - here's my attempt at an explanation/pattern:
Materials: 2 balls Berroco Quest, size K crochet hook, piece of cardstock 3.5 inches by 7.5 inches.
Row 1: ch 12, ch1 and turn.
Row 2: sc back up the chain (12 sc). Ch 1 and turn.
Row 3: Take your turning ch and draw it out until it fits over the cardstock the short way. With the yarn held behind the card, draw a loop through the turning ch.
This part takes a few rows to get the hang of. Hold the yarn behind the card again. Slide your hook forward through the loop you made in the last step. and reach down in front of the card and draw a loop through the next sc. Pull that loop up to the top of the card, draw a loop through it, then draw a loop through the two loops on your hook.
Repeat the last paragraph across the row. You'll have a loose loop at the beginning of the row, but you'll pick it up in a minute. At the end of the row, DON"T REMOVE THE CARD YET, ch 1 and turn.
Row 4: sc along the top of the card. The 12th sc should be the loose loop at the end. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 5: Sc even (12 sc). Ch1 and turn, and remove card.
Repeat rows 3-5 until you have 19 long sections, and fasten off.
Go back to the very beginning, and sc along the bottom of the first row (I could claim I did this so there's a nice place to add the fringe, and it did work out that way, but really I didn't think ahead to how many rows I would have between sections
).
Fringe: Wrap the card the long way. Cut along one side only, then use two strands per fringe.
You'll finish with just enough yarn leftover to wrap your scarf in a pretty package and tie a bow!
If I make this again, I think I'll do it in the Mallard color - a pretty blue-green.
