I’m not sure how much yarn it takes, probably less than a skein. I have a fairly large stash of cotton yarn that I bought at a garage sale and I used some of a cone to make this.
The stitch technique is super textured. One side is almost like window shades, with little flaps, the other side has ribbed columns. If you work the technique for a scarf, the window shade side would have flaps across the width, the ribs on the other side go down the length.