Oak Hollow

Oak Hollow by Dianna Walla

Project Overview

Oak Hollow is an intermediate-level knitted mitt pattern featuring stranded colorwork design. These cozy handwear pieces showcase golden oak leaves and acorns wrapping around the hand, making them ideal for autumn wear and outdoor activities like walks in crisp fall weather.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a pair of fitted mittens designed for everyday wear. The mittens are available in two sizes to accommodate different hand circumferences: 7.5 inches (18.5 cm) and 8.5 inches (21.5 cm). The finished length is 7.5 inches (18.5 cm), providing adequate coverage for the hand and lower forearm.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

Oak Hollow employs stranded colorwork as its primary decorative technique. This method involves carrying multiple yarn colors across the back of the work while knitting with the active color, creating intricate patterned designs on the fabric surface. The pattern incorporates increasing techniques to shape the mittens appropriately for hand fit and structure.

The mittens are worked in the round using double-pointed needles, a traditional method for creating seamless tubular garments. The stranded colorwork is executed at a gauge of 28 stitches and 38 rounds per 4 inches (10 cm) when worked on the larger needles, ensuring the colorwork pattern displays clearly and the fabric maintains proper drape and warmth.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

Oak Hollow requires sport weight yarn in three coordinating colors. The pattern calls for Lichen and Lace Rustic Heather Sport yarn, which is 100% wool and provides 215 yards (197 meters) per 56-gram skein. The three colors used in the shown sample are:

• Color A (Coal): 100–113 yards (92–103 meters) depending on size
• Color B (Birch): 17–19 yards (15–17 meters) depending on size
• Color C (Pollen): 70–80 yards (64–73 meters) depending on size

The pattern recommends sport weight yarn as a substitute if the specified yarn is unavailable, ensuring consistent results with similar fiber content and yardage specifications.

Needles and Tools

Two sets of double-pointed needles (DPNs) are required to complete Oak Hollow. The first set should be sized to achieve the working gauge, with a suggested size of US 2.5 / 3 mm. A second set of DPNs should be 0.5 mm smaller than the gauge-size needles, typically used for ribbed cuffs or other sections requiring a tighter gauge.

Skill Level and Difficulty

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with prior experience in basic techniques who are ready to expand their skills. The stranded colorwork technique requires familiarity with managing multiple yarn colors and maintaining consistent tension across color changes. Knitters new to colorwork will benefit from the pattern's inclusion of tutorial references for trapping long floats, a technique that prevents long runs of carried yarn on the back of the work.