This unique Tunisian Crochet Scarf Pattern is perfect for men and women. Worsted yarn for a warm, squishy scarf that everyone will love.
“Tunisian Nautilus Mens Scarf” free crochet pattern by Kim Guzman © Jun. 2023. All rights reserved.
Technique: Tunisian crochet.
Skill Level: Intermediate.
Crochet Pattern At A Glance
Tunisian Crochet Scarf Pattern for Men
Designer: Kim Guzman © 2022-24. All rights reserved.Rate the Pattern
Yarn
- Red Heart “Super Saver”, size 4 weight, 96% acrylic, 5 oz/141g, 260 yds/238m per skein: 2 skeins or approximately 410 yards color Buff Fleck
Other Materials
- Suggested Tunisian Crochet Hook Size 9mm, or size needed to meet gauge
- Yarn Needle for weaving ends
Instructions
- Work Row 1 to establish foundation.
- Work Row 2 to establish repeat.
- Repeat Row 2 until 136 rows completed, or until desired length.
- Work a slip stitch bind off row to fill in the tops of the stitches.
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Full Free Crochet Pattern Below
This is a free crochet pattern and the written instructions are below. If you prefer a printable download, a PDF is also available for purchase.
My Crochet Pattern Notes
This Tunisian scarf pattern is made up of a 1-row repeat. Ordinarily I would say that’s an Easy skill level (2 out of 4), but not this time. Because that one row has so many stitches in the same row, I’m moving this one up to Intermediate.
It’s not difficult; you just need to pay attention, especially when you first start out. Who wants to do an entire project in only one stitch anyway? We need some action in our lives and in our crochet.
This is a rectangular scarf, worked short edge to short edge. The width can be changed with the provided stitch multiple. To change the length, crochet to the length you want then the binding off to close the top loops.
About The Stitch Pattern
I recently designed a Tunisian ripple baby afghan. I’ve done ripples so many times that I didn’t follow a stitch pattern, but most of the time, a ripple is a ripple, right? It’s all a matter of counting.
Well, maybe not ALL ripples. My Sweetheart Ripple design is pretty special, even if I say so myself. See my About Page for more information on my published books.
While I was stitching up the Tunisian Ripple Baby Afghan, I started wondering what would happen if I just did the top of the rise and the valley, omitting the straight lines: just the 3-up and the 3-down. This beautiful scarf is the outcome of that thought process.
I don’t know if it’s in any stitch pattern books since it just fell out of my head. I made it up, but you never know. someone else could have made it up as well.
The important thing is that it’s gorgeous and such a clever texture. It looks like stacks of little seashells, hence the name Tunisian Nautilus Scarf.
Because of its texture and simplicity, it’s quite versatile, perfect for anyone. It will make a gorgeous throw for a modern living area as well and that may be my next project! Use the stitch multiple and your imagination. It could be used for many different projects.
Nautilus Matching Sets
If you find that you like this stitch pattern as much as I do, check out this Nautilus Twisted Headband. Same stitch pattern, but quicker since it’s smaller. It’s a great opportunity to try it out without a heavy commitment.
Pin It For Later
Finished Size
8″ wide x 64″ long.
Yarn
Red Heart “Super Saver“, size 4 weight, 100% acrylic, 5 oz/141g, 260 yds/238m per skein: 2 skeins or approximately 410 yards color Buff Fleck.
Other Materials
Suggested Tunisian Crochet Hook Size 9mm, or size needed to meet gauge.
Yarn Needle for weaving ends.
Gauge
Worked in stitch pattern, about 17 stitches for 8 rows measures approximately 4″ x 4″.
Stitch Multiple
If you would like to change the width of this project, you’ll need any multiple of 4, then add 3.
Reading Your Work
Look closely at your work. Each stitch is an inverted rainbow that starts at the bottom, goes up into the chain and then back down the other side. This “rainbow” is made of a front vertical bar and a back vertical bar.
This is just a little cheatsheet, if you’re new to these stitches. There is so much more to Tunisian than the plain simple stitch, or as we’ve called it in the past, the Afghan Stitch.
The front vertical bar is for placement of the simple stitch. The knit stitch goes between the front and back bars of the same stitch. The full stitch goes under the chain between the stitches themselves.
Special Stitches
Puff: Insert hook in chain indicated, yarn over, pull loop through, yarn over, insert hook in same chain, yarn over, pull loop through: creates 3 stitches.
Tunisian Full Stitch (tfs): Insert hook from front of work to back of work, between the stitches, yarn over, pull loop through. Right-Handed Video | Left-Handed Video.
Tunisian Knit Stitch (tks): Insert hook from front of work to back of work, between the front and back vertical bars of the same stitch, yarn over, pull loop through. Right-Handed Video | Left-Handed Video.
Tunisian Simple Stitch (tss): Insert hook from side to side (right to left for right-handers or left to right for left-handers) under the front vertical bar, yarn over, pull loop through. Right-Handed Video | Left-Handed Video.
Horizontal Bar (horiz bar): There is a horizontal bar at the top of 3-stitch groups, insert hook from front of work to back of work under that horizontal bar, yarn over, pull loop through.
Tunisian Crochet Symbol Chart
Tunisian Symbol Charts aren’t all that common in Tunisian crochet patterns but, I’m seeing a bit of confusion about the first row in comments and I wanted to do a chart for two reasons.
First, I wanted to confirm that the stitch count is accurate and second, I want to clarify any confusion with the stitch pattern itself. Now that I know that the stitch multiple is correct, I’m hoping that seeing the chart will help if problems arise.
I’m not new to making Tunisian crochet stitch charts. I wrote an entire book of them. (Read more about my books at About Kim Guzman.) But, even after writing all those stitch pattern symbol charts, nothing prepared me for the looks of this one. Ripples always look funny, don’t they?
It may just be my imagination, but this looks more confusing than the words. Yikes! When read in conjunction, though, I hope this will help anyone having problems working this pattern. Once you get it started, you have to repeat row 2 throughout.
Other Abbreviations
This free Tunisian crochet scarf pattern is written in US crochet terminology.
ch=chain; lp(s)=loop(s); rep=repeat; sk=skip; sl=slip; st(s)=stitch(es); yo=yarn over.
All numbers after the colon at the end of an instruction are stitch counts. Use the stitch count to check your work.
Free Crochet Pattern Instructions
For best results, make your first row in the back horizontal bar of the chains.
Note: Ordinarily when you close a Tunisian crochet row, you will “yarn over and pull through 1”, also known as a chain 1 at the beginning, to close the first stitch. Watch your closing carefully here because this one is different. In order to maintain the decreases, the first closing is a “yarn over and pull through 2” which closes 2 stitches at the beginning instead of 1. Thereafter, when you see “yarn over and pull through 2”, it closes 1 stitch.
Row 1
A: Ch 23 loosely, sk 1 ch, puff (see Special Stitches above) in next ch, *[insert hook in next ch, yo, pull lp through] 3 times, puff in next ch, rep from * to last ch, insert hook in last ch, yo, pull lp through: 35 sts on hook.
B: Yo, pull through 2 lps on hook (see Note above), [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, *yo, pull through 4 lps on hook (closing 3 sts), [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 3 times, rep from * to last 7 sts (8 lps now on hook), yo, pull through 4 lps on hook, [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, yo, pull through 3 lps on hook (closing 2 sts): 1 lp remains on hook.
Row 2
Note: This row calls for several abbreviations which can all be found in Special Stitches above. I would normally call it out each time, but it would make it difficult to read the instructions on this one.
A: Sk 2 vertical bars, *tfs, tks, tfs, tss, horiz bar, tss, rep from * to last 3 sts, tfs, tks, tfs, insert hook as for tss under last 2 vertical bars: 35 sts.
B: Yo, pull through 2 lps on hook, [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, *yo, pull through 4 lps on hook (closing 3 sts), [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 3 times, rep from * to last 7 sts (8 lps now on hook), yo, pull through 4 lps on hook, [yo, pull through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, yo, pull through 3 lps on hook (closing 2 sts): 1 lp remains on hook.
Rows 3-136: Rep row 2. Do not fasten off.
Binding Off
Note: This is a slip stitch bind off. Work the slip stitches loosely.
Sk 2 vertical bars, insert hook in next vertical bar as for tss, yo, pull lp through then pull through the lp on hook (slip stitch made), sl st as for tss in next vertical bar, sl st in horiz bar, *[sl st as for tss] 3 times, sl st in horiz bar, rep from * to last 4 sts, [sl st as for tss] 2 times, sl st as for tss under last 2 vertical bars at the same time, fasten off.
Finishing
Weave in all ends securely.
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Sandy says
I’m about to try this pattern, but am wondering about your comment to work row 1 in the back horizontal bar of the chain. Do you mean the back bump? The chain doesn’t have bars, so that is confusing to me. Row 1 is worked into the back bumps and there is no foundation row normally found in Tunisian crochet?
Kim Guzman says
That back horizontal bar of the chain is also called back bump. There is no typical foundation row. You just move right into the stitch pattern. Enjoy and thank you for writing!
Sandy says
Ok, that’s what I thought. Thanks. One more quick question…is row 1 made up of puff stitches all the way across? I’m following the instructions for the puff stitch in the first stitch, but then the 3-loop stitch sequence after that doesn’t appear to be a puff stitch. I’m having a difficult time working all the yarn overs. I already have 10 loops after three stitches. That can’t be right and only have 35 at the end.
Sandy says
Never mind! The 3 loop sequence is in the next three chains like a normal foundation. Sorry, I misread that.
Sandy says
I’m only getting 32 stitches in row one. I tried counting the end loop on my hook as the first chain and not counting it. Turned out the same. 32 stitches.
Kim Guzman says
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you promptly. I never saw your other messages. I’ve reviewed the pattern to confirm that the stitch count is correct. I’ve also drawn out a symbol chart for you to confirm everything. Let me write that first row in a sort of makeshift shorthand, just in case you want to try again.
Skip 1 ch, puff in the next ch, *pull up lps in next 3 chs, puff in next ch, rep from * to last ch, pull up lp in last ch. You will have 6 puffs, 3 sts between each puff, one at the beginning and one at the end, for a total of 35 loops.
The only thing that my testers mentioned was that, when pulling up the loops for the puff stitch, it can stretch out the chain and the next chain is accidentally skipped. Or, maybe, yarn overs are accidentally dropped when pulling up the next loops? If it’s any consolation, the foundation row is the only row with the puffs. If you decide to give it another try later, I hope this will help.
Patricia M Abrum says
How can you prevent tunisian stitch fabric from curling.
Kim Guzman says
Many Tunisian crochet stitch patterns, like this one don’t curl, or curl very little. That’s the most common method of avoiding the curl: by using a stitch pattern thast works in your favor. If you’ve already completed a project and you have curling, you can add a nice, heavy border like the one I did on the Wandering Cables Baby Blanket. It had the most curling I’ve ever had and the border worked perfectly. I hope that helps!
Lisa says
Is there a video for making this scarf pattern? I’m struggling with row two.
Kim Guzman says
I wanted to let you know that the final video is now available on this page. I hope it helps!
Lisa Martin says
Your video on YouTube was VERY helpful. Thank you so much for making it.
Kim Guzman says
That’s great! I hope you enjoy your project. I’m thinking I need to make an entire blanket out of this stitch pattern. 🙂 Thank you for writing!
Carola says
Hi Kim!
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern.
I’ve been wanting to try my h d t Tunisian crochet for years and finally decided to try with this pattern.
So thank you for it and for explaining it so well. Even as a complete newbie it was easy enough to follow and understand.
However, I’ve tried many times following the video and the written instructions and the final result doesn’t look exactly like yours. I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.
The main difference is that the part where the stitches point to the center, the column where you close 3 stitches in your row B and do a tss, horiz bar, and tss on row A, it just looks like vertical bars on my work instead of the bars pointing to the horiz loop (hope that makes sense).
What do you think I could be doing wrong? I wish I could show you a pic.
Thanks again!
Carola
Kim Guzman says
Please send me a photo at [email protected] so I can take a look.