Like its cousin the Thaxton Hooded Cowl, Notch is luxuriously stretchy, squishy, and toasty-warm. Experiencing how the notched short-row wedges take shape is fun—it’s the textural highlights of the Thaxton Hooded Cowl, repeated for decorative impact.

Notch started out as a way for me to test the Thaxton cowl and take the pattern out of beta. I fell in love with the long-striping yarn effects. To get notches on both sides of the scarf, the wedges alternate so that the textures face the front.

Pattern includes a color-coded stitch diagram.

Skill Level: Intermediate. The slip stitch is an elementary stitch; however, short rows are considered an Intermediate skill. Crocheting slip stitches with a consistently looser gauge, as determined by the crochet hook size, takes practice for many crocheters in my slip stitch classes. I call this skill a “hook-led” gauge.

After following this pattern you will know (if you didn’t already):

• How to add dramatic surface texture with short rows
• How to add designer touches to short-rowed ribbing
• How to use a hook-led stitch gauge
• How to crochet simple slip stitch ribbing

Depending on your yarn, scarf can stretch lengthwise when worn to as much as 8” X 72” {20.25 X 182.75 cm}.

Choosing a yarn: The best yarns for this project are wool or acrylic blends because they add bouncy loft. Cotton yarn is just not the same for this. Long, gradual color changes in a yarn, such as Crystal Palace Mochi Plus or Noro Kureyon, or subtle tonal shades of a hand dyed yarn, work great for this design! Choose a plump #4 medium-weight yarn with a crochet hook size range from US H/8/5mm-J/10/6mm listed on its label. These yarns may be referred to as Heavy Worsted, Aran, Afghan, and occasionally “Light Chunky” Weight.

Recommended if you’re new to slip stitch crochet: 2 or more stitch markers (until you can recognize the last slip stitch of each row).

International English equivalents for American measurements, yarn weights, and stitch terms are in brackets {}.