Big Brioche Turtleneck in Till
A supreme sweater that brings comfort and joy to deepest winter, we’ve updated our Big Brioche Turtleneck pattern so you can knit it in Till, our big, beautiful Andean highland wool yarn that comes in a bountiful range of colors!
Brioche stitch is simply a plusher and bouncier ribbing that forms sculptural furrows as deep as ski tracks in fresh powder. We have a fantastic tutorial to demystify this classic stitch pattern, a great step for any knitter who hasn’t tried brioche stitch yet!
You work the Big Brioche Turtleneck from the bottom up, knitting the front and back separately, and then seaming the two pieces together at the shoulders and collar. Pick up each sleeve from the shoulder and work it flat; the decreases are placed at the top of the sleeve so all the world can see that fabulous brioche shaping. Finally, you sew up the sleeve and side seams, leaving a little split hem detail at the bottom.
Plump, round Till is the perfect yarn to make those brioche hills and valleys pop! A generous yarn with a vintage sensibility, Till’s balanced 4-ply spin results in plush, defined stitches at a generous gauge between a worsted and chunky weight.
Your Big Brioche Turtleneck can be any color of the rainbow (and then some!) thanks to Till’s huge palette of joyful, enticing heathered colors. We cast on with Beetle Green for a vivacious green pop that brightens any winter day.
The perfect cast on for midwinter, the Big Brioche Turtleneck in Till is big, cozy, and brimming with style, a wonderful companion for the coldest time of the year!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Adam Aronowitz.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoBigBriocheTurtleneck, and #PurlSohoTill. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 9 (10, 11, 12 13) (14, 15, 16, 17) balls of Purl Soho’s Till, 100% Andean highland wool. Each ball of this worsted/aran- to chunky/bulky-weight yarn is 136 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 1195 (1350, 1455, 1615, 1740) (1900, 2040, 2176, 2310) yards required. We used the color Beetle Green.
- US 10 (6 mm), 24- or 32-inch circular knitting needles (depending on size you are making)
- Stitch markers, including removable ones
- A Big Brioche Turtleneck PDF
Gauge
12½ stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in Brioche Stitch
NOTE: To count rows in Brioche Stitch, be aware that each visible stitch is actually two rows.
Sizes
NOTE: For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
38 (41½, 45½, 49½, 53) (57, 61, 64½, 68½)
To fit actual chest circumference of 30–33 (34–37, 38–41, 42–45, 45–48 (49–52, 53–56, 57–60, 61–64) inches, with approximately 5–8 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 38 (41½, 45½, 49½, 53) (57, 61, 64½, 68½) inches
- Finished Length From Shoulder: 23¼ (25, 25½, 27, 27¾) (29¼, 30¼, 31¾, 32½) inches
- Finished Sleeve Length From Underarm: 17 (17, 17, 17, 16½) (16½, 16, 16, 15½) inches
Sample: The sweater shown here is size 41½, worn with 8½ inches of ease.
Pattern
The Big Brioche Turtleneck is available as a PDF download only.
Learn About Till + All Our Beautiful Yarns
Everything you make with Till is destined to become an instant classic, and that’s why we chose it for this pattern! With a vintage sensibility and a timeless appeal, this 100% Andean highland wool yarn is toasty warm and soft to the touch. The bouncy 4-ply spin gives excellent stitch definition to everything from stockinette and garter stitch to cables, and it knits up beautifully at either a worsted weight or a chunky weight. With a stunning rainbow of 37 vibrant heathered colors to choose from, pick up all the Till you need for this project!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of free Till knitting patterns and cast on!
More Worsted- and Chunky-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of worsted/aran-weight yarn (What does worsted-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to worsted-weight yarn will answer your questions and more!)
- Shop our entire collection of chunky/bulky-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fiber
- Shop wool yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Good morning.
I would like to make this sweater but I can’t wear wool. Could you please suggest a non-wool yarn that would work well with the pattern?
Thanks!
Virginia
Hi Virginia,
Thanks for writing in! We would recommend holding two strands together of either Morning or Serif. Both yarns are made from cotton, and Morning also contains some yak fiber for an extra silky texture!
As always, we recommend knitting a gauge swatch before casting on your project, especially when you are substituting yarns. You may need to size up or down your needles in order to get the correct gauge!
All the best,
Lili
Love this pattern!
Please recommend a non-wool option. I live in the South.
Thanks!
Hi Cynthia,
So glad that this pattern has caught your eye! We would recommend holding two strands together of either Morning or Serif. Both yarns are made from cotton, and Morning also contains some yak fiber for an extra silky texture!
As always, we recommend knitting a gauge swatch before casting on your project, especially when you are substituting yarns. You may need to size up or down your needles in order to get the correct gauge!
All the best,
Lili
What level of competence do you need to attempt this project?
Hi Diane,
We’re so glad that this pattern has caught your eye! We always want to encourage people to discover that learning new techniques enriches the process of making, so we try to describe the skills involved with a pattern so that knitters know what they’re getting into. I’ll include a list of skills that this pattern requires, as well as links to any tutorials we have on them:
Brioche Stitch
Increases in Brioche Stitch
Decreases in Brioche Stitch
Picking Up Stitches
Mattress Stitch
Ultimately, we hope that you will take little leaps into the unknown and find that the satisfaction was worth the challenge. If these techniques are daunting, I would recommend trying them out with some scrap yarn before beginning the sweater. And as always, we are happy to help answer any questions you may have along the way!
All the best,
Lili
Can this be knit on straight needles? I’ve only used circulars once and it went very slowly. Thanks
Hi Dedee,
I would recommend sticking with circular needles for this sweater since you’ll have a whole lot of stitches on your needles at once! The body panels of the sweater in particular can reach up to between 19 and 34.25 inches wide, which unfortunately won’t fit on straight needles at all. But the good thing is that you’ll still be working flat, not in the round, so it’s actually the same techniques as you would be doing on straight needles!
All the best,
Lili
Love this sweater but I have never mastered Brioche stitch, found it complicated with two colors. Is it easier when knitting with one color?
Thanks
Hi Diana,
Yes, I would say that knitting brioche in one color is a whole lot less complicated than knitting it in two colors!
All the best,
Lili
I love this pattern except the neckline. Can you suggest a resource so I could learn to alter the neckline to a simple boat neck or other? I just can’t have anything up around my neck. Thank you.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for writing in! You can make the neckline shorter by stopping earlier in the ‘WORK COLLAR’ section of the pattern. Just be sure to make a note to do this on both the front and back so that your sweater has the same result on both the front and back!
All the best,
Gavriella
I am working on this sweater and would love to do a similar one in two-color brioche. Can you recommend a pattern.
Hi Phyllis,
I’m afraid that we haven’t yet designed a two-color brioche sweater pattern, but I’ll pass along your interest in seeing something like this to our design team for future consideration!
All the best,
Lili
I am making size 41.5, have cast on 65 stitches and am somehow messing up in the first Row 2 . Set up row done. Row 1 done. But at the end of row 2 when I finish the last repeat of *yos, bk2tog* I have 3 stitches remaining on the left needle, not 2. So then if I do yos, k1 as the pattern says, what do I do with the final stitch remaining on the left needle? I seem to have increased total number of stitches to 66, mindful that I’m counting each knit stitch with its paired yarn over as a single stitch. Thanks for your help!
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for writing in, and I’m happy to help you get back on track! Row 2 is the first row where you’ll encounter paired brioche stitches (which were created by the YOS stitches on Row 1). At the end of Row 2, your last two stitches are a paired brioche stitch and a regular stitch. This paired stitch in particular may look like it’s two stitches, since I’ve found that the loops sit a bit more separately than the other paired stitches due to the tension at the edge of the row, but it is still considered just one stitch!
I hope this helps, but if you’re still having trouble, I’d recommend sending a photo of your work to us directly. You can email it to [email protected]. That way, we can better visualize what’s going on!
All the best,
Lili
I am making size 41.5, have cast on 65 stitches and am somehow messing up in the first Row 2 . Set up row done. Row 1 done. But at the end of row 2 when I finish the last repeat of *yos, bk2tog* I have 3 stitches remaining on the left needle, not 2. So then if I do yos, k1 as the pattern says, what do I do with the final stitch remaining on the left needle? I seem to have increased total number of stitches to 66, mindful that I’m counting each knit stitch with its paired yarn over as a single stitch.
I think I now see my answer from previous QA — that in Row 1, after the Slip 1 stitch the yarn is moved to the back before the bk2tog.
What about the Slip 1 stitch in Row 2? Is the yarn kept in front before the *yos…?
Final Q, are the 2 selvage edges supposed to be the same with 65 cast on stitches or different?
Thanks
Hi Lynn,
All the regular slipped stitches are slipped purlwise with yarn in front! So on Row 2, yes, you will keep the working yarn in front before the YOS. And yes, the selvage edges should look just about the same as each other!
All the best,
Lili
Is this wool soft? I know the description says it is but I’ve heard Andean wool can be itchy.
Hi Deborah,
While Till is soft to the touch, it does tend to feel prickly if you’re sensitive to wool. Highland wool is a relatively rough type of wool compared to a very soft wool like merino. If you’re hoping for something softer, then Plenty would be a wonderful option!
All the best,
Lili
I have a question about the bind off when starting the underarms. Starting on the right side I have a slipped stitch not a yarn over slip and then the next stitch with its paired yarn over. Do I purl that first stitch to start the bind off? On the next row (wrong side) I’ll have a slip, a yos and then the stitch with its paired yarn over. So on that side you purl the first two bind off stitches?
Hi Phyllis,
Great questions! For the slipped stitch on the right side, you can simply slip that stitch, bk2tog the next stitch, and then pass that slipped stitch over and off the needle. On the wrong side, you can also just slip the first stitch, purl the second, and pass the slipped stitch over. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili