The exquisite, hand-spun and -painted yarn for this cowl came from Briar Branch Alpaca Boutique in Clements, MD. My daughters and I visited Briar Branch while on a girls’ getaway to Breton Bay. Dana, the owner of a field full of darling, fluffy alpacas, brought us out to the pasture with a bottle of milk. Carston, a white baby alpaca, bounded toward us from the opposite corner of the field.

You have not fully lived until a baby alpaca charges up to you to get his morning bottle.

The Carston Cowl is knit in smooth, flat Linen Stitch, with Stockinette gussets that let the tube open up around your shoulders, providing full coverage over your neck. Add pearls, gems, or tiny buttons at the tops of the triangular gussets to finish off this chic cowl.