Fingerless Gloves

Also known as glovelettes, these modified versions on traditional gloves are not just a fashion accessory. In fact, these are quite useful as protective wear for work that involves quite a bit of dexterity.

Normal gloves tend to play havoc with tasks that need you to be nimble with your fingers, and this is where fingerless versions can be of great help. Church organ players, cyclists, sailors, and cigarette smokers are some of the most common users of this type of gloves.

How are these gloves different from normal gloves? While more or less similar in appearance, gloves without fingers have finger columns that are only half in length, which makes the top half of the fingers of the person wearing the gloves visible. As mentioned earlier, these gloves are also known as glovelettes, hobo gloves, and bum gloves. 

The latter two names can be attributed to the stereotyping by Hollywood where most homeless people are depicted wearing these gloves. Manufacturers of these gloves generally ensure that they are padded in the palm area, in order to provide extra protection to the hand. This also ensures that the exposure of the fingers to the rigors of the climate does not interfere with the ability of the wearer to grip things.

These gloves are not the warmest gloves and are in fact, often worn to allow the hands to cool down. This is the reason that many weightlifters often don them. For bikers, wearing them translates into getting a good grip on the handlebars. Even skateboarders and rollerbladers wear these to prevent balance issues due to a fall. Fishermen wear them gloves to allow for the manipulation of line and tackle. This is especially true in cooler climes.

Due to the effect of popular culture, for some reason, fingerless gloves have become synonymous with rebels and people who are tough and have a general disregard for the normal and regular. The standard rules of the world do not hold true for them. Movies like The Breakfast Club, Grease, etc helped take this image forward. It was fostered by celebrities like Billy Idol and Michael Jackson.

If you are good with knitting and crochet, you can follow knitting or crochet pattern to learn how to knit this pattern of gloves. Alternatively you can follow the simple method given here. All you need are a pair of high socks, needle, thread, scissors, and measuring tape.

• First take the socks, and lay them out straight on a flat surface to smoothen out any bumps.
• Next take the scissors that you have and cut the socks at a length of at least one inch above the heel of the socks.

• The bottom part of the socks can be used as a pair of ankle socks, while the upper half can be used to make the fingerless glove.
• If you want, you can choose to stitch the socks neatly, but a raw feel looks great so you can even opt to not seam the socks.

• Next, make a slit in the socks, at a distance of two inches from the top of the socks. The slit should be big enough to allow your thumb to slip through.
• Now, hem the sides of the slit to make it look neat. Use a blanket stitch if you are familiar with the same. Once you have stitched up the slit on the edges, pull it on to your hand.

You can make them look even more unique by stitching on buttons, patches, or any other design that you deem fit. These gloves look really cool and allow you to flaunt your inner rebel.