Gloves

These are some really easy, customizable gloves that you can whip out pretty quick. I wore them here:

I used a different pair here:

And my daughter used them recently here:

As leggings. For our adventure. Did anyone else go to Krispy Kreme and get a free dozen (or 3 dozen in our case) doughnuts for National Talk Like a Pirate day? It was fun. And I’ll pretty much take any excuse to dress up Can you tell I’m wearing one of the fishnet gloves, A is wearing a fishnet on her leg, and a red glove on the other.

Okay, ready to find out how to make them? It’s pretty easy. I made a pair for each girl in a couple of hours, with interruptions.

Can you read my scratch? You need 4 measurements. From the 3rd knuckle to the elbow bend (if that’s how long you want yours), from the wrist to the elbow bend, around your wrist, and around the elbow bend. I choose to make a paper pattern for  my gloves, so that’s what I did next. You need to add 1/2” to your numbers, and then with the wrist/elbow bend circumference measurement, you need to divide that in half. Did I lose you? I sorry. If you look at my scribbles, the measurement for A from knuckle to elbow is 7, so final measurement is 7 1/2”. Wrist to elbow bend is 5 1/2”, so 6”. Around the wrist is 4 1/2”, so 5” then halved is 2 1/2”. Elbow bend area is 6 1/4”, so 6 3/4”, and halved is 3 3/8”. Okay? Now, fold a scratch paper in half

This is T’s measures, so if you can tell, the jagged ripped edge is for the elbow bend area, and that number was 3”. I made a mark that tall, and then along the fold, I marked how long it should be, which was the 3rd knuckle to the elbow bend, which was  6 3/4”. Then, I marked where the wrist measurement should be, which was  2 1/4” from the fold, and then drew a line from the top edge down to the 2 1/4” mark, that was as long as the wrist to elbow bend measurement (4 3/4”). Then, I made a little bit of a straight line (about 1/4” tall), and connected that with the wrist measurement, and I like to curve it a little. See if this picture clears things up.

So when you unfold it, you have the glove shape, ready to cut out. (you’ll notice it doesn’t have the 1/4” straight part at the tip, I fixed that when I was cutting out)

Just for reference, here’s A’s glove pattern:

Then, you get your knit fabric (you need to have some stretch), and make sure the stretch goes around your arm, not up/down it. Makes sense? You could use old t-shirts, tights, socks, etc.  K, so fold it in half, and pin your pattern on, and cut out 2 gloves at once.

K, then I was stuck figuring out what to use for A’s glove, since she is being very specific about her Halloween costume. Then, I remembered this:

It’s coming up in a future post, but I had some left, so I laid hers on the fold

And that was 2 layers of pantyhose fabric, so I cut it in half.

Okay, really that is the hardest part. If you’ve made it here, you’re awesome. Now, you’re going to press some seam allowances in 1/4”. You’re doing around the elbow bend, around the wrist, up to the knuckle, and back down. Can you tell in this picture?

Then, you just sew those up. (make sure you do them on the correct side of fabric, so they match and all.) NOTE: if you want to make sure they won’t slide down your arm, add some elastic to the straight seam you just sewed. Just do it as big as your around the elbow measurement, and then overlap the seams about 1/4” (1/2” total) so it’s tight enough, but not too tight. You may just want to sew a casing instead of the seam, your call.

Okay, now you need to add on your elastic. This was tricky, because I used a round elastic. Don’t do that, mkay? I had to do it by hand cuz it wouldn’t hold still.

Now, you can sew up your seams, right sides together so you get a tube shape. Just match the edges.

Finished seam:

And then, I like to sew my seams open where they meet the edges. Just to make things look nice.

See, that’s where the elbow area is. Let’s not talk about the dark blue thread, okay? If your gloves aren’t staying up as well as you’d like, try adding a little bit of elastic to the top (elbow bend area) before sewing up the seam. Or shirr it, or something.

That’s it, you’re done! And the best part is you don’t have to help them get the gloves on when they’re playing dress up. Does anyone else get annoyed with those dang fingered gloves?!?! They are the bane of my existence. I’ve used these gloves for princess, punk, pirate, diva, rock star, devil, and the list goes on. I’ve made them out of different colors of knit, but also out of pantyhose and fishnets. I’ve worn just 1 at a time, or mismatched them. It’s all up to you! You could probably do some that go all the way up your arm, or go mid arm, or maybe even just go to your wrist. They come together REALLY fast when your pattern is already made, so go crazy!

Let’s not talk about my poor orphan children whose hair isn’t fixed, or the baby who scraped up her nose on a wipeout..
Okay, if these gloves don’t really suit your costume, here’s some other ideas.

If you want a different look for a fingerless glove, here’s a tutorial and free pattern here at Fleece Fun, made from Ruffle Fabric (I’ve yet to use it, but I want to try it sometime)

Unfortunately, this didn’t go to the source, but you can embellish your store-bought gloves with pom poms (that you sew or glue on), lace, trinkets, buttons, markers, etc. Ooh, what if you did some dip dye or ombre? For some dyeing tips, go look over here.

If you are a crochet-er (is that a word?), and you’re looking for a more dainty glove, here’s a pattern and tutorial at the Purl Bee for some lace handwarmers.

This cool glove is from P.S. I made this and would be easy to customize for your costume too!

If you’ve been around for awhile, you may remember Natalie making some cast covers out of socks. Pretty dang easy, and customizable, with no sewing!!
So what do you think for the first day of Halloween goodies? Any other glove patterns you’ve seen that you might try? Let me know! And if you have any other specific things you want help with, let me know!!