I made a few variations of this scarf in the last few months. The pattern came from the Lionbrand Yarn website. I used their Homespun Yarn, which is really soft. The downside to the fluffy yarn is that you really can't see what you are doing, at least between the chain row and row 1. But the upside is that no one else can tell if you've made mistakes, either! I used a J-10 hook. Here are the directions, straight from the link above at Lionbrand Yarn. (This is my favorite pattern site so far for crochet.)
SCARF
Ch 143.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across – 142 sc at the end of this row.
Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as dc here and throughout), turn, 2 dc in first sc, *dc in next sc, 2 dc in next sc; rep from * across to last sc, dc in last sc – 214 dc at the end of this row.
Row 3: Ch 2, turn, 2 dc in first dc, *dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc; rep from * across to last dc, dc in last dc – 322 dc at the end of this row.
Row 4: Ch 2, 2 dc in first dc, *dc in next 2 dc, 2 dc in next dc; rep from * across – 431 dc at end of this row. Fasten off.
FINISHING
Weave in ends.
I just started crocheting about a year and a half ago. I picked up Crocheting For Dummies from the library, and it really did teach me everything I needed to know, at least to get started on basic patterns. I also grabbed the I Taught Myself Crochet Beginners Kit from the craft store, mostly because it was a good deal on the different hooks, but the book also had good reference points for all the stitches.