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How to Make Gloves

by Icetigris on March 8, 2010 Table of Contents How to Make Gloves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: How to Make Gloves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Terminology and Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Drafting Your Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Drafting Continued: Fourchettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Drafting the Thumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Cut the Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Trace Onto Paper & Preliminary Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Installing the Thumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Attaching the Fourchettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 3 5 7 8 9 9 9

Step 9: Finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 10: Improving Your Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 11: References and Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Author:Icetigris
I'm a grad student in computer science and OCD perfectionist cosplayer. I like to make games, draw, make costumes, and win internets.

Intro: How to Make Gloves

In this instructable, I will show you how to draft your own glove pattern and make a pair of gloves. You can use this with any fabric, leather, vinyl, or similar material, stretchy or not. Hands are complicated 3D shapes with many degrees of freedom of movement. Gloves need to accommodate this and are as such more complicated than 2 pieces of hand-shaped fabric sewn together. SUPPLIES: For drafting: -duct tape (or something similarly flexible) -paper (preferably tracing paper or something similar) -a disposable glove (latex, nitrile, whatever you have on hand [HURHUR]) -a pencil -a permanent marker -sharp scissors For construction: -fabric -thread -pins -Fray-Check (optional, but nice to have) -a sewing machine and/or a needle and lots of patience

Image Notes 1. A finished, fingerless glove made with this method.

Image Notes 1. This is a mockup, hence crappy fabric and visible stitching. Do a bunch of these!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 1: Terminology and Key

Trank - the hand-shaped part that constitutes most of the glove Fourchettes - the little pieces of fabric that go between your fingers Thumb - the part that goes on your thumb (derp) Fourchettes are one of the most overlooked parts of gloves, but they are VERY important for comfort and mobility of your fingers. Key: -darker fabric color is the "right side", or the side of the fabric that you want on the outside of your glove -lighter fabric color is the "wrong side", or the side of the fabric that you want on the inside of your glove

Image Notes 1. Approximate shapes of your pattern pieces. WARNING: NOT TO SCALE

Step 2: Drafting Your Pattern

There are a lot of ways to do this, but I like to start with the coat-your-hand-in-tape method 8D Put the disposable glove on your non-dominant hand (I'm right-handed, so I put it on my left hand), and layer strips of tape all over the latex glove. Have a friend help you cut tape strips if you can, it's a lot easier that way. Make sure you get a nice, thick layer all over your hand, especially between your fingers and around joints. Once you have coated your hand in tape, trace a line from the tip of your pinkie, down the side of your hand, to your wrist. This will be your trank seam.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Image Notes 1. This is why I'm making diagrams instead of taking photographs.

Image Notes 1. latex glove 2. tons 'o duct tape

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 3: Drafting Continued: Fourchettes

Trace a loop starting from the tip of your pinkie that follows the side edges of your fingers and the outer edges of your finger webbing. What you want to end up with is a strip of fabric that goes from the tip of your index finger to the tip of your pinkie, and is about the width of the side of each finger.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 4: Drafting the Thumb

Trace a loop around your knuckle and draw a line up the side of your thumb, stopping at the tip.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 5: Cut the Pattern

Cut along the first line we drew (the seam on the pinkie side of your hand). Once you have done this, you should be able to pull the whole thing off your hand and continue cutting along your lines normally. I cannot stress this enough, but BE CAREFUL when cutting the tape off your hands. Be patient, since the last thing you want to do is hurt yourself or ruin your pattern.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 6: Trace Onto Paper & Preliminary Edits

Lay your tape hand down as flat as you can. If your tape hand fingers are wildly splayed outwards, mess with them until they are basically straight out. Once you've traced your tape hand, you need to add your cuff and seam allowances. You can do this by adding an outline around the original tape hand shape. I generally use about a 1/8" (3.175mm) seam allowance, but you can adjust as needed. This is generally what your pattern pieces should look like (with notes for the most common edits you'll need to make). Once you're happy with your paper pattern, cut it out, lay down your pattern pieces, pin, and cut your fabric*. I would recommend doing a few mock-ups on cheap fabric before cutting into your nice fabric. *If you have Fray-Check and you are using woven fabric that tends to fray, apply it to the edges of all your pattern pieces after cutting them out.

Step 7: Installing the Thumb

Sew the side seam of the thumb from the tip to the notch. You can try it on to see if it fits and for amusement value. Once your thumb is stitched together, turn it inside-in. Make sure your trank is inside-out (i.e. right sides together) and put the thumb in the thumbhole. Stitch the thumb into the hole.

Image Notes 1. i.e. the right side of the thumb fabric is touching the right side of the trank fabric

Step 8: Attaching the Fourchettes

Pin your fourchette strip to the trank, right sides together. For each finger, sew along the front until you get to the trench between the current and next finger, then knot your thread and do the same for the back of the current finger.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 9: Finishing
Sew the side of the trank and hem. GLOVES GET!!

Image Notes 1. This is a nice stitch for doing invisible hems.

Step 10: Improving Your Design

Your first glove will probably not fit 100% properly. This is often the case whenever you're new to pattern drafting or glovemaking. Make a few mockups, learn from your mistakes, and you will soon have a perfectly-fitting glove pattern made specifically for you. Feel free to ask me questions and please let me know if there's anything I can clarify in here, especially my diagrams.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Step 11: References and Derivation

These are some sites where I learned the basics of glove making: http://www.glove.org/default.php - this site is mostly about making period gloves and has some great patterns http://vintagesewing.info/1950s/50-hmg/hmg-toc.html - this is a vintage book from 1950 about making gloves; it is very detailed and talks a lot about leather gloves There was another site that I used to figure out how to make my first pair of gloves, but it's long dead. All the sites I looked at when I was first learning how to do this used patterns with multiple fourchettes instead of the single fourchette strip that I describe here. The multiple fourchettes are more accurate for period costume, but they are a HUGE pain in the ass to keep track of. When looking at some commercially-produced gloves that I owned, I noticed that there was a single strip of fabric instead of a whole bunch of separate fourchettes. I figured it would be much easier to keep track of and draft, so that's why I went with the strip design instead of separate fourchettes.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Related Instructables

Make Fun Fur Three Fingered Winter Gloves by cameraguy

Pikachu costume/cosplay! (Photos) by jessyratfink

Tips for the reluctant costume designer by belsey

WWII Aviator Gremlin Costume by korybing

how to make three fingered gloves by sebspeirs

Sew a set of upcycled sweater fingerless gloves by skyisblu

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/

Comments
14 comments Add Comment

scoochmaroo says:

Jan 11, 2011. 11:25 AM REPLY This is great! I was going to do this exact same Instructable, but now I don't have to! I made a pair of red lace gloves for one of the Lady Gaga costumes I did all of my sewing by hand, since the machine ate the lace. It also allowed me to give the pieces a better fit to my hands as I sewed them. Can you include some pictures of the finished gloves you made?

Icetigris says:
Thank you! I am working on some more gloves, so once they're done, I'll post them.

Jan 15, 2011. 2:18 AM REPLY

craftyv says:

Jan 10, 2011. 3:23 PM REPLY Great ible, I loved the drawings. The "quality" of the stitching could be improved a little and this might encourage more people to look at the whole thing. Hand stitching is notoriously difficult especially around tight corners. Use a smaller stitch perhaps and pull a little tighter. NOTE: When dressmaking it's always recommended that a thread slightly lighter than the fabric, is used. (this won't show through as much). I hope you continue with these, very good work.

Icetigris says:

Jan 10, 2011. 10:40 PM REPLY Thanks. I probably should have mentioned that this is a mockup that I did, which is why you can see the stitching. I have a finished glove, but it's fingerless. I wanted to show what one with the fingers still on looks like.

craftyv says:
(removed by author or community request)

Jan 11, 2011. 2:52 AM

Icetigris says:

Jan 11, 2011. 4:38 AM REPLY I added an image note, so if you hover over the image you can see it. I'm also working on some non-fingerless gloves so I'll eventually replace the images of the mockups.

craftyv says:
I see it now. Thank's a lot.

Jan 11, 2011. 2:08 PM REPLY

Euphy says:
Epic illustrations!

Jan 7, 2011. 12:50 PM REPLY

Biggsy says:
This is a really good instructable welldone, I may give this a try

Jan 5, 2011. 4:23 PM REPLY

thepelton says:
If you cut the thumb part separate, you can add it out of line with the fingers just like an actual hand. I like this instructable!

Jan 4, 2011. 5:48 PM REPLY

Icetigris says:
Yep! A separate thumb piece is really important for having thumb mobility. I'm glad you liked it! :]

Jan 4, 2011. 9:50 PM REPLY

colacastink says:

Jan 3, 2011. 7:48 PM REPLY Used this to make a fingerless glove (just cut the fingertips off and hem `em), it's GREAT. I would have never thought to do anything *other* than just sew 2 hand turkeys together, but this looks so much better :P

rimar2000 says:
Very clever!!!

Jan 3, 2011. 2:18 PM REPLY

Icetigris says:
Thank you! :3

Jan 3, 2011. 7:45 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Gloves/