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 yarns
- 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