Creating gloves for little hands

Last week on Born Just Right’s Facebook page, there was a really great conversation about how to help our kids stay warm in the cold weather. Jessica Peters shared with me how to alter gloves and she even put together a step-by-step guide so you can give this a try as well!

How to alter knit gloves (like the ones you can get at the grocery for a dollar)
All you need is a simple glove you can find at many stores
1. Determine how much of the glove needs removed based on the person’s hand.

2. Carefully cut off the part of the glove that isn’t needed, leaving a small amount of material for hemming. 1/4 inch (for baby size) up to 1 inch for adult size.

3. Turn the glove inside out.
You can turn the trimmed glove inside out to start the sewing.

4. Set your sewing machine to zig zag stitch. Zig zag stitches have a little stretch. Here it’s #4.
Set the stitch to zig zag.
5. Slowly zig zag stitch the hole closed. At the beginning and end of sewing you should sew forward three stitches and then backstitch three stitches to secure your thread. Notice how close the needle is to the edge of the fabric.
Slowly stitch the hole closed
Slow and steady as you sew.It looks kind of cool from this angle.
6. Turn the glove right side out. If you like your work, you can turn it back inside out and carefully cut off any of the glove that is sticking out from the seam, if you need to. Don’t cut too close or it will not be secure. Also clip the extra thread off.
What it should look like with zig zag stitches This is what it looks like once you turn it right side out.

Knit gloves will look a little lumpy at first but once they’re on the person they’ll stretch out and look nice. My daughter prefers to wear several layers of knit because it allows her to make snowballs the way a mitten won’t.

Jessica also has tips on how to trim thicker gloves… Don’t worry! A how to on that is coming very soon. Thanks so much to Jessica for sharing this for all of us!

13 Comments

  1. Lynette F. on January 27, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    Thank you for this tutorial! sharing it with my friends. God bless!

  2. Danielle Cuttaia on January 27, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    Any ideas how to modify a hockey glove. My son has a right hand limb defect and plays hockey. The glove slips off and is uncomfortable for him. Thanks any input would be great

    • Jen Lee Reeves on January 29, 2013 at 10:10 am

      Danielle – that’s a great question. We should ask readers and our Facebook friends.

  3. Jessica on February 4, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    Hi Danielle, I did the tutorial. Have you found an answer yet?I’m not familar with Hockey Gloves but let’s see what we can figure out for you. Hockey gloves look really thick, can you tell me what they’re made out of? How much of the glove do you think needs taken off in order to fit correctly?

    • Jen Lee Reeves on February 6, 2013 at 12:18 pm

      Here’s an interesting thing I’ve learned in my research about gloves. Shriners will actually help create customized gloves, like hockey gloves for kids who need it. If you live near a Shriner’s you should try contacting them. I’m really excited to have learned this little tip!

      • danielle cuttaia on February 6, 2013 at 7:45 pm

        I have heard that scriner’s will do modifications, unfortunately i do not live close to one. I did some research through our local leather artisan, he had some great ideas how to change the shape of the glove. I am going to buy an inexpensive pair for him to do a test run on. Really hoping it works. I wll keep you posted. I think I will research where the closest t shriner’s hospital is and look into it. Thanks for all of the great ideas and helpful comments. It is nice to have a support group.

    • Danielle Cuttaia on February 6, 2013 at 7:49 pm

      Hockey gloves are stiff and made of leather and a heavy foam. They are not very pliable and the fingers are thick. Very padded. They do not have much give to them until they are very broken in. He is only 5 so he has not played enough yet to get his gloves to soften. Thanks for your input I really appreciate it

  4. […] out how Born Just Right reader, Jessica Peter, alters gloves for little hands. She offered a really great step-by-step guide. That’s helpful for little hands, but keeping little arms warm can be a bit trickier. We have […]

  5. Kristin on November 13, 2013 at 1:43 pm

    I just found this and thank you! I am not crafty at all and have never customized gloves for my 7 year old. I feel bad now because it seems so easy!

    • Jen Lee Reeves on November 13, 2013 at 4:05 pm

      I know, Kristin! I would have never thought of this process. I’m so glad we have other families that come up with ideas for us all to share!

  6. Lauren on January 31, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    My little guy has a full thumb and the first “section” of all his other fingers with a little extra nub on the middle finger. He is 3.5years old and this is the first winter we’ve had to put serious consideration into his winter mitts. Full mittens have too much material, but the knitted mittens that fit get wet and cold so he takes both off and then wants to come in because his hands are cold. His little fingers aren’t really big enough for gloves. I’m struggling to find something that will provide him the functionality he needs but will stay warm! I need suggestions!

    • Jen Lee Reeves on February 4, 2015 at 1:34 am

      Lauren, have you looked at water proof mittens? You may be able to alter the mitten portion while there’s space for his full thumb. I’m happy to ask for other ideas on the Born Just Right facebook page if you think it might help!

      • Lauren on February 4, 2015 at 10:08 am

        We did try that with one pair of mittens as an experiment, but they still didn’t come out quite right, it ended up fitting the fingers but then the thumb didn’t fit right. I’m hoping that I don’t end up buying and altering a whole bunch of different mittens before I find something that works. I had thought about the gloves with the half fingers, that have the mitten flap, and just sewing the fingers closed, but wasn’t sure if they made that style small enough.

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