Stay Warm and Stay Connected with Texting Gloves

Stay Warm and Stay Connected with Texting Gloves

It seems everyone is connected through their smart phones and devices these days. Of course, when winter comes, we are faced with the dilemma of staying connected with our gloves off or staying warm with our gloves on. Peculiar, right? I have developed an easy solution—texting gloves. Use fleece scraps to create a comfy pair in an evening of sewing. Or, spend a little more time to embellish the gloves with a monogram for an added personal touch. In either case, these make up quickly and solve a common seasonal problem.

This technique can easily be adapted to knit tops, fleece jackets, and active wear to create the popular “thumb-hole” style at the end of each sleeve.

Note from Nancy: Small pieces of fleece fabric are ideal for the quickest of all fleece accessories. There are really only three steps: cut, stitch, and turn.

Notions, Fabrics, and Supplies

• 1/2 yard high-loft fleece
• Matching all-purpose thread
• Pattern Tracing Paper
• Non-Permanent Marking Pen or Tailor’s Chalk
• 1/2″ wide Fusible Web 

Cutting Directions

Prepare the Pattern

• Using Pattern Tracing Paper, trace a 12″ x 14″ rectangle with the grain running the 14″ length.
• Measure in 1″ from each edge along one 12″ side.
• Draw a line from the point to the other 12″ side, tapering the pattern.
• Mark a 1″ seam allowance along the 14″ edges.
• Mark a thumb opening 2″ and 4-1/2″ from the narrower end of the glove.

• Pin pattern to high-loft fleece and cut two.

• Transfer seamline and thumb opening marks with nonpermanent Marking Pen or Tailor’s Chalk.

Texting Gloves Embroidery (optional)

There are two schools of thought on monogramming gloves or in this case, texting gloves: The monogram can either face outward or inward. I chose the outward option.

How to Monogram on Fleece

• Attach embroidery unit.
• Determine the embroidery design and transfer the design to your sewing machine.

Note from Nancy
I used a font found in Personalize ‘N Stitch 2.0 and scrolls from the Delightful Daisies Collection.

• Place a marking or embroidery-positioning sticker 4-5/8” from the top and 3-1/2” from the right side. On the opposite glove, use the same measurements, marking from the left side.

• Position a Sticky-Back Tear-Away Stabilizer in the hoop.

• Perforate the stabilizer inside the hoop with a tip of a pin. Tear away the paper covering.

• Place fabric on the stabilizer, centering the marking or placing the stickered area in the middle of the hoop.

• Move the needle to begin stitching over the mark or sticker. Remove the sticker.
• Place a Wash Away Avalon Film Stabilizer over the fabric.

• Embroider the design.
• Tear away the excess wash-away stabilizer and gently tear the fabric away from the sticky-back stabilizer. If any residue of the wash-away stabilizer remains, spritz the fabric with water and the stabilizer will vanish.

 Construct the Gloves

 This series of steps features photography for the left-hand glove.  

• Clip to seam allowance at marked thumb openings.
• Fuse a 2-1/2″ strip of Fusible Web at the ends of the clips as pictured.

• Remove the paper covering from the strip. Turn under the seam allowances and press.

• Stitch the seam allowances in place.

 

• Press a 5/8″ hem at the top and bottom edge of the glove.

• Meet the long edges, right sides together.

• Stitch a 1″ seam with a basting stitch, using caution to not stitch the thumb area.
• Try on the gloves and adjust the seam width, if necessary, to fit your hand/wrist.

• Restitch the long seam, reinforcing the thumb area before and after the opening.

• Fold the 5/8″ hem along the marked crease, topstitch.
• Turn gloves right side out.

More Knit Project Ideas

For more information on the Texting Gloves pattern and other knit sewing project ideas, check out my book, Sew Knits With Confidence.

Watch Sew Knits With Confidence on Sewing With Nancy online

Enjoy watching my two-part series, Sew Knits With Confidence, featuring basic to creative knit sewing techniques. Click to watch Part One and Part Two. To watch Sewing With Nancy on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, download the app.

Thanks for sharing your comments from last week’s blog, Absolute Easiest Way to Use PDF Sewing Patterns. The random winner of a copy of The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew book is Gail Beam. She says: I have some downloadable patterns but I have a ton of traditional patterns. lol

Bye for now,

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