I just love knitting & wearing finger-less gloves, and have done so for years - so imagine the thrill of felting gloves! As soon as I suggested it as a possible workshop I had lots of interest and had to take things further...
The experimenting & planning has been fun! I've learnt that shaping & fitting is important, but probably not as critical as with felt slippers. Through trial & error I've discovered a number of tips and ways of avoiding potential sizing disasters! Felt is such a friendly medium, and so forgiving...
My favoured approach is to make one large 'double glove' resist. It saves time laying out and you can be sure of matching your pair, but it isn't always practical as you do need plenty of room to work. However laying out a single glove is relatively quick as I've been using just two layers of fibre (plus decoration on top) to avoid ending up with some extremely thick 'oven' gloves!
To size the resist you must take into account the thickness of your hand, as well as it's overall shape. The slender part of the finger area doesn't need as much shrinkage allowance as the round, thicker wrist and lower arm where you will need more fullness. Also felt gloves don't have the same stretch as knitted ones, so you have to leave a certain allowance to be able to get them on and off without a struggle!
Begin laying the first layer out lengthways, with the second across the width as it seems more logical to place any final decoration along the length too. Fibres will shrink more along their length and so will the gloves. Once they have shrunk on the resist you can divide the pair and continue rolling them together side-by-side, checking frequently that the insides aren't matting(!)
After some final trimming put them on your hands and rub them together with warm soapy water until they are the right size...
The 'Felt Gloves' workshop will actually cover many styles & variations - from finger-less mitts, hand-warmers and cuffs to full-length gloves, both practical and elegant. I will show you the basic process with the idea that you take things further and create your own individual design.
We may have January behind us but I'm sure there's still some bitter cold weather to come! Felt gloves and mitts are so wonderfully warm & very practical - they can be worn as over gloves with a thinner pair underneath. Great fun to wear, can be really quirky, completely unique and offer much scope for embellishment with buttons, beads and embroidery.
My first 'Felt Glove' workshop will take place next week and I'm delighted to say that it is fully booked. We've had so many enquiries that we will be holding more and you can find more information on my workshop listings and on the Oliven website.
I'm expecting some great results from my first glove makers so hopefully I'll be posting up some photos soon...