Like a Galway hooker

These are fingerless mittens I made for a friend who was stuck with a Christmas present and asked me to whip up something cute.
The main colour is Hayfield Bonus Aran with Wool, a huge 400g skein which is great value! The accent colours are acrylic DK I picked up in the yarn shop 🙂

A 5mm hook will do nicely for these.

The main stitch is Granite Stitch: it’s very simple and looks great! I found it and used for the first time thanks to Loopy Sue Designs, in her Man’s Scarf (which is also a brilliant Christmas present).
The stitch used with accent colour yarn is a very simple Puff Stitch (Yarn over hook, insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through. You should have 3 loops on the hook, yarn over hook, insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through. You should now have 5 loops on the hook. Yarn over again, insert hook into stitch, yarn over pull through. You should now have 7 loops on the hook: yarn over and pull through all loops on the hook. Don’t worry I linked a great tutorial for puff stitch in the pattern)

Abbreviations:
Sc single crochet
Sl st slip stitch
Ch chain
St stitch
Ch sp chain space

Pattern
Using colour A, begin with a chainless foundation single crochet row of 28 stitches and join with a slip stitch.
1st round: ch2, (1 sc in the next st, ch1 sk1) repeat till end of round, sl st to join.

Alternatively you can do a foundation chain and work in the “butt” of the chain… this leaves a really nice edging too. Chain 28 and slip stitch the last and first stitch to make a circle. If you’re doing the foundation chain start your 1st round by chaining 2 (counts as 1sc and 1ch space), insert hook in the “back-bump” of your first chain and do 1 sc. Then ch 1, sk 1, and 1sc in the next st. Repeat till the end of the round, ch 2, turn.

2nd round: this is the same as the first round, only you won’t be working in the stitch but in the chain 1 space of the previous round. 1 sc, ch 1, sk 1, 1 sc till end of round, sl st, ch 2, turn.
Repeat 2nd round for 3rd and 4th rounds.

This pic isn’t relevant to the pattern but it shows the stitch 🙂

5th round: With colour B chain 2 in the first ch 1 of previous round and do a puff stitch in the same ch sp. (Ch 1 and Puff stitch), repeat till end of round.

From now on, repeat the 2nd round four times, and always remember to work in the chain space, not the stitch. After 4 rounds of Granite Stitch with colour A switch to colour C and do a round of puff stitch. So you can do them as long as you want them!

To end just do a final round using one of your accent colours (I inverted mine for left hand and right hand!) and simply do a sl st instead of sc in your ch sp.