Amaliya Mittens

Amaliya Mittens by Denise Balvanz

Project Overview

The Amaliya Mittens (DN1012) are an advanced knitting project designed by Denise Balvanz featuring a distinctive honeycomb texture. These mittens are crafted with a functional design that creates internal pockets to trap warmth, making them both decorative and practical for cold weather wear. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and represents part of a coordinated collection that includes matching accessories.

What Is Being Made

The primary project is a pair of mittens with a textured honeycomb stitch pattern. Denise Balvanz has designed this as part of a larger collection; separate patterns are available for coordinating pieces including a capelet, hat, and fingerless mitts, allowing crafters to create a complete coordinated set if desired.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Amaliya Mittens employ several intermediate to advanced knitting techniques. The construction uses slip stitch techniques combined with catch stitch methods to create the signature honeycomb texture. The pattern is worked in the round, requiring familiarity with circular knitting and maintaining stitch patterns across multiple rounds. The honeycomb stitch pattern involves strategic yarn-over placements and slipped stitches that create dimensional pockets within the fabric structure.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The core of the Amaliya Mittens is the Honeycomb Stitch, a multi-round pattern that repeats over 12 rounds:

• Rounds 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11: Knit all stitches in odd-numbered rounds
• Rounds 2 and 4: Slip 3 stitches with yarn in front, knit 1 stitch; repeat this sequence around
• Round 6: Knit 1, then alternate catch stitch with knit 3 stitches, ending with catch stitch and knit 2
• Rounds 8 and 10: Knit 2, then repeat slip 3 with yarn in front and knit 1
• Round 12: Knit 3 stitches, then catch stitch; repeat this sequence around

The pattern note indicates that some repeats may extend slightly beyond the round end to maintain complete motif integrity, ensuring the honeycomb texture remains unbroken throughout the mittens.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Amaliya Mittens are designed to work with aran and worsted weight yarns. The original pattern sample was created using Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill, a 100% wool yarn with 250 yards per 4-ounce skein. The sample mittens shown were knitted in the Garnet colorway. The yardage requirements are moderate; the complete coordinated set of capelet, hat, mittens, and fingerless mitts required four skeins of yarn with some leftover for swatching. Individual yardage suggestions for each piece include extra yardage allocated for test swatching before beginning the final project.

Difficulty Level

This project is classified as advanced difficulty, making it suitable for experienced knitters who are comfortable with multi-round stitch patterns, slip stitches, and catch stitch techniques. The round-by-round pattern requires attention to detail and understanding of how the honeycomb texture builds across multiple rounds to create the dimensional pockets that define these mittens.