I confess—the first version of this design (the purple one) was inspired almost entirely by my plan of wrapping myself in the yarn, without breaking the bank. Since it’s pricey, a full-size scarf was out, but a cowl seemed doable. Short rows break up any pooling (an issue if you pick a more multi-colored color way), and purl ridges resemble draped fabric, giving the illusion that the cowl is longer than it really is.

The purple cowl is made of Shaefer Yarns Helene; the cranberry cowl from Malabrigo worsted; and the teal from Kathmandu Aran and Kid Silk Extra.

Clarification of “Wave” sections:
The directions are correct as published, but I’ve had a number of questions about holes and other issues in the short row sections. One possible reason is misreading the directions so you are wrapping and turning on the same stitch several times. Here are some additional notes to clarify the short rows (the original directions are in plain text, clarification is in italics):

K to 12 sts past first A marker (A1), w&t,
p to 12 sts past A1 (so you p the 12 sts back to A1, plus 12 more sts, for a total of 24 sts away from the previous wrap), w&t.
K to 8 sts past A1 (so you knit the 12 sts back to A1, and then 8 more sts for a total of 20, which puts you 4 sts before the previous wrap on the knit side), w&t,
p to 8 sts past A1 (so you p the 8 sts back to A1, then 8 more sts, for a total of 16, which puts you 4 sts before the previous wrap on the purl side), w&t.
K to 4 sts past A1 (so you knit the 8 sts back to A1, and then 4 more sts for a total of 12, which puts you 4 sts before the previous wrap on the knit side), w&t,
p to 4 sts past A1 (so you p the 4 sts back to A1, then 4 more sts, for a total of 8, which puts you 4 sts before the previous wrap on the purl side), w&t.

Basically, the wrapped rows for a pyramid, with each level 4 sts smaller on each side than the layer before it.