How to Make Cotton Work Gloves

Cotton work gloves make chores much easier. They help protect your skin from heat and abrasion when working in the garden or around the house. You can purchase cotton work gloves or make your own inexpensively. All you need is a sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch. Feel free to choose a solid or a print, but remember a jersey knit works best. Find out more about how to make cotton work gloves below.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cotton knit fabric
• Thread
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Paper
• Pencil
• Shears

1. Preshrink 1/8 of a yard of cotton knit fabric. Since cotton shrinks, wash and dry the fabric before cutting or sewing.

2. Create a pattern for cotton work gloves by tracing your hands on a sheet of blank paper. Set the paper on a flat surface. Place a hand in the center of the page and use a pencil to trace around the hand starting at the wrist.

3. Add a 1/8 inch seam allowance to the glove pattern. Use a ruler to measure 1/8 of an inch from the pencil line then place a dot with a pencil. Start at the wrist and make a series of dots around the edges of the whole piece. Connect the dots with a continuous line, one that mirrors the original trace.

4. Cut out the pattern with shears.

5. Transfer the glove pattern to the cotton fabric. Fold the fabric in half so the right sides are touching. Place the pattern on the fabric and trace the pattern with chalk.

6. Secure the pattern to the fabric with straight pins then cut out the fabric. Remove the pins and the pattern.

7. Sew the front of the cotton work gloves to the back of the gloves. Align the fabric and re-pin in place. Use a zig-zag stitch with a short length as it is the recommended stitch for stretchy fabrics. Start at the outside wrist and continue sewing around the glove.

8. Hem the bottom of the cotton work gloves to hide the raw edges. Fold the bottom edge up ¼ inch so the wrong sides are touching. Press with a clothes iron. Use a zig-zag stitch across the bottom.

9. Turn the glove right side out with a point turner or some other sharp tool.

10. Repeat steps 4 to 9 to make the other cotton work glove.

Tips & Warnings

• If the weight of the fabric isn’t too heavy, you can save time by doubling the fabric in step 4. This way you are cutting 2 sets of cotton work gloves at one time.