Scarves make great gifts. They tend to work up quickly, don’t take too much yarn, and are a great way to experiment with new stitches and color palettes. I often feel I can splurge on a single skein of luxurious yarn when I’ll only need ONE to crochet a great scarf. Here are a few great scarf patterns, free for the taking online.
http://www.quamut.com/quamut/crochet_project_paisley_motif_scarf
Here’s the Clapochet Scarf. I’ve seen it crocheted in several yarns. I think my favorite is my friend Rita’s which she did in Collage bulky weight in a colorway that had ‘watercolor’ type variations in the deep wine/rusty family. Really lovely. I’ve also seen it in a white tone-on-tone colorway which was splendid. I think almost any nice yarn would make a truly wonderful scarf.
http://crochetkitten.blogspot.com/search/label/patterns
I’ll find some more scarf patterns to share soon!