The Turtle Dove sweater pattern is offered FREE from Espace Tricot, which is very nice of them. I have a link to their Ravelry pattern page below.

I knit mine using bulky Brooklyn Tweed Quarry yarn because it was on hand. So, here is how it turned out.

The Size

Even though I knit the size Medium, it came out huge! But really, that is okay because now it is my sweater / poncho. My yarn was thicker than the pattern calls for and my needle size was larger. I expected it to be big.

I used about 1,000 yards of yarn, or 5 skeins. I had to frog the Oxbow cardigan, which is why I bought this yarn to begin with.

The color used for the back ribbing is Granite. I changed the color at that part of the knitting so I could easily tell the back from the front. There are short rows near the neck cuff for the back, so even though it may not look it, there is a Back and Front to this thing. Having a different color hem in the back just makes things easy.

The pattern offers two types of bottom hem options. I knit the split hem version. Although I planned to have 3/4 sleeves as the pattern is written, they ended up long.

The Pattern – Good for Beginners

The Turtle Dove pattern is one of many free patterns offered by Espace Tricot, a Canadian yarn shop. The link here goes the pattern on Ravelry.

I also just want to mention that as I began this pattern I had a hard time figuring out where the back, front and sleeve sections were located. I’d never knit a raglan sleeve sweater. I wrote a blog post about that, just in case other’s have this problem.

Once I got past that, the pattern was very easy to follow. I would say it really would be good for any beginner knitter to try.

The Yarn

I loved working with the Quarry yarn. I had no problem with it pulling apart, and came across one knot where I cut the yarn. Because the needles were size 11 and the yarn is bulky, the sweater worked up quickly.

The one personal problem I had was that as the project grew, it became hot in my lap. It was summer in Florida as I knit this, and even with the AC on, it became uncomfortable to knit.

I washed the finished sweater in my kitchen sink with Eucalan wool wash that doesn’t need to be rinsed out. I wrapped it in a towel to remove excess water and put it in the spare bedroom, on a queen size bed, to dry. It could almost be a bedspread… LOL. This yarn dries fast.

I bought my yarn at Wool and Company when it was on sale. I like to order from this place because shipping (US) is free always, no matter the amount you buy, and they will wind skeins for free also. I’ve never found any other company who does that. They have a great selection of yarn as well.

Currently I live in Florida, but I picture myself in my (future dream) New Hampshire home snuggled up in my poncho on a cold evening.