Yarn issue
The yarn for stitching the folds needs to be all wool, non-superwash in order for it to felt upon washing. One only needs a few yards. I don’t recommend buying a whole skein for that.
Alternatively, one can use the same yarn as the main section and after stitching, separate the plies for a frayed look.

This Cestari yarn is beautiful and substantial.
One of the skeins of my project yarn got chewed on by daughter’s puppy, Murphy, a couple years ago.
Worked up the segments as they came, frayed ends as is.

CO 48.

Added a smattering of heart drop beads at each end amidst the folds.

The scarf shrank lengthwise quite a bit upon MW warm, flat dry.