5 Minute Fashionable Fingerless Gloves




About: I am a mixed media artist living in the Ozarks with my family. I have been published in many magazines including the cover of Sew Somerset.

Create these warm, fun and fashionable Fingerless gloves in no time at all. It takes me about 5 minutes to complete a pair. Each year I make a new pair in a new color for myself and my family members. They all love them and so do I. These are very warm since they are made from used wool sweaters. They also last a long time. Plus who wouldn't want to wear something so darn cute!?

Teacher Notes

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Step 1: Find a 100% Wool Sweater at the Thrift Store...

The first step is to find some old sweaters at the thrift store or keep an eye out for them at yard sales during the summer. I usually look for sz Small or Medium, unless you want to do some alteration to make the sleeves small enough to become gloves (in which case you just need to sew down the seam to make it smaller, cutting off the excess material)

I found a lovely pink sweater, 100% Merino Wool, and machine felted it as follows...

1. Wash the wool sweater in HOT water in the washing machine.

2. Dry the sweater on HIGH HEAT in the dryer.

This will shrink the wool and make it tight, thicker and therefore warmer.

3. Cut the sleeves off the sweater. Measure against your own arm making sure to leave enough length to fold the cuff (where your fingers go) in half and a little extra to fold over for the arm, as much or as little as you want.

4. Also cut the bottom of the sweater off. Say 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. (this is to make rosettes or other embellishments)

Step 2: Cutting Thumb Holes...

After cutting the sleeves to length slide them over your hand to determine where to cut the thumb holes and how big you need to cut the holes.

Find the inside seam and carefully cut the stitches that hold the seam together just long enough to allow room for a thumb. (smaller hole for a child's thumb, larger for an adult)

*Not just the skinny part of the thumb but also for the knuckle at the base of the thumb as well. Otherwise the hole might be too tight and uncomfortable to wear, defeating the whole purpose.

(You can go back and hand stitch around the thumb hole for a more finished look. I don't do this because the wool, once felted, won't unravel. If you use any other type of sweater other than wool you will need to stitch the edges so it won't fray, also the cut edge of the sleeve at the bottom.)

Step 3: All Done Except...

Now you have your basic fingerless gloves. Very functional and very warm. Easy to use (great for office work where you need to type but your hands are freezing)

You can fold the top cuff down to cover more of your fingers and use as improvised "mittens" and a little more warmth for driving etc.

At this point you are really all finished except for the embellishments if you so choose to add them.

Step 4: Rosettes and Embellishments...

To make a rosette...

1. Take the bottom 1 1/2" - 2" edge of the sweater that you cut off and start rolling it into a spiral / flower rosette.

2. Hand stitch the rosette to the top outside edge of the glovelet. Nothing fancy here, just tack it in place. You could also use fabric glue for this if you don't feel comfortable sewing. But it will take longer waiting for the glue to dry. All your stitches will be hidden on the inside so it doesn't have to be perfect.

3. Add a vintage rhinestone button, or pin next to the rosette and you have a wonderful, fashionable pair of fingerless gloves for yourself or as a gift for the special someone on your list. They will LOVE them!

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    6 Discussions

    Those are lovely!

    I love merino wool. You might want to consider buying the larger sized merino wool sweaters at the thrift store, too. Merino fibers are small and take longer than other types of wool to felt (but not quite as long as cashmere, it seems). If you wash the larger sweaters several times, they'll eventually get small enough (and wonderfully thick) for snug fingerless gloves. You wouldn't be able to make such a lovely rosette with wool if it was felted too much, though, since it'd be too stiff.

    Great instructable!

    1 reply

    Thanks so much! I never thought of trying to shrink larger ones down to "thicker" gloves. One could still embellish with vintage rhinestone jewelry and buttons etc. :) Hope your week is wonderful!