Crochet and Leather Gym Gloves

I was in need for gym gloves because skin on some areas of my palms was getting pretty thick and peel off due to particular exercises. And gloves look cool ;)  Nice gym gloves cost a lot. I could have bought cheap bicycle gloves but who knows how much they would help. So the route of making was to be taken.

This might not be 100% successful project but it was worth doing. The gloves do lighten the pressure to my palms but at the same time a crease in them tends to direct some of the pressure to more gentle part inbetween where the palm ends and fingers start. But I have learned to pay attention every time a grab a bar and not let that evil crease form. Generally they do improve the after workout feeling in my palms. I have no experience with commercial gym gloves to compare to.

So I think it is worth sharing and you can make your own improvements - let me know if you get very good results in reducing damage to your skin. Possibly thinner leather could make it better.

These gloves have genuine leather palm sides and crocheted back sides and wristband that closes with velchro. The method is to crochet a back of the hand piece and attach it to the leather palm side with some zig-zag chain crocheting. The wrist band is crocheted separately.


Prerequisite skills:

• Basic crocheting - chain stitch, double (and higher) stitches, growing and shrinking a row, confidence to freestyle :)

Materials:

• Leather - for palm parts of the gloves, suitable thickness for your training weights, but generally I think thinner and softer is better
• Crocheting thread - something not stretchy might be better
• Velchro - for closing wrist bands
• Sewing thread

Tools:

• Hole punch - such size that your croheting needle can work through these holes
• Crocheting needle - size depends on the thread
• Scissors
• Sewing needle
• Paper, pencils etc

Lay one of your hands on paper and draw around it holding pencil as vertical as possible all times. Mark important spots like finger joints and the crease on the inside of your wrist (mark to the inside of the line because you are going to cut the outer part off). Then draw your other hand the same way.

Cut out just one of your hand patterns. Turn it around and lay onto the other that is not cut out yet. Draw around the cut out pattern, also transmit the joint markings. Now take a different colour pencil and make an approximation between the left and right hand patterns to get one nice average hand. Also draw the wrist line and decide on the length of fingers. Better to have shorter than longer fingers, because their length does make the leather crease and push into gentle areas. When you have finished the pattern that you think would suit for palm side leather part then cut that one out. You could also make a copy for cutting instead then you can revise your original "data" if the need arises. Lay the cut out pattern onto your palm and check if everything still seems good.

Lay your pattern on the back side of leather and draw around it with ball point pen. I also added some "width" to it but not "length". Flip around (they must be mirrored!) and draw for other hand. Cut the parts out. Keep the paper pattern for crocheting.

Lay a cut out leather part on your palm and bend your fingers as you would grab a bar. The finger parts should not reach second joint of your fingers in this position. If they reach there trim them off and also make change in your paper pattern.

Take hole punch of suitable size and make holes around the leather pieces leaving just ends of fingers intact. Be careful not to leave too narrow material in between hole and the edge. Starting from each corner and doing centers of sided last may help with better positioning of the holes.

Take your paper pattern and mark where you want the hole to be that allows the gloves slip over the widest part of your hand. To have it in the center of the back of hand you should draw it not in the center of the pattern (as I did) but bit further away from thumb.

Crochet chain stitches that go horizontally over the pattern where the hole ends plus few stitches for next rows height (see images). Proceed with rows that alternate one double stitch (as in this tutorial http://www.crochetspot.com/how-to-crochet-double-crochet-stitches-dc/) to one chain stich. Lay the crochet on the pattern at the end and beginning of each row and grow or shrink a row according to the pattern. You may need "higher" than double stitch to do that. That's pretty much "free-style" crocheting as no exact crochet pattern can be given, just compare to your hand pattern. The edges may not become perfect but that does not show much in the finished gloves. If you get to the fingers then you probably have to end and start a thread few times to make the separate fingers. Just be creative with your freestyling and if it goes very bad then rip off some and redo.

When you have finished fingers then it's time to go to the other side of the openings edge where you strated - like if you "went north" so far now start from the same line and "go south" in two parts ... well, see images, I can't explain better.

For the wristbands just crochet a chain that is about the width you want the wristband to be and make monotone rows of double stitches til you reach the circumference of your wrist plus the overlap for velchro. Take into account that it does strech a bit.

To attach the palm and back part you will have to make chain stiches that go zig-zag between these parts. How many stitches to do from front to back depends how big your hands are and how big or small your front and back pieces ended up. Some more freestyle crocheting to do. This is probably the part where you may end up ripping and doing things over again. Check often by slipping it over your hand.

Important: leave lots of room for fingers. Firstly the gloves will be easier to take off. And secondly and mainly too tight fingers cause the evil crease I have told you about already. I remade the attachemets much wider between the fingers after first testing in the gym - that was a painful testing.

Attach velchro to the wristbands with the help of sewing needle and regular thread.

Start with the glove of your non-dominant hand or find someone with similar sized hands to be a mannequine. Put the glove on and the wristband around the wrist. Use use large sewing needle with crocheting thread to attach the wristband to the rest of the glove while they are on hand. Proceed with putting the other glove backwards on your non-dominant hand. Pay attention to mirror the wristband too.

Hide the loose thread ends and you are done.

Go to the gym with your new stylish, unique and hardcore gloves. Have a joyful workout.