How to draw a Basic Glove Pattern
Leather and fabric gloves are some of the best gloves made today. They can both be made using the same glove pattern. In this content I am therefore sharing on how to draw up a basic glove pattern for leather and fabric gloves; and I will be using my hand as a model for this pattern. I will also provide the link to my YouTube tutorial of this pattern.
Hand Tracing
- Take a paper and draw a vertical line on it. This line will be your guideline. Place your hand on the guideline with pointing finger and arm straight with the guideline, and the thumb spread out.
- Then trace around your hand.
- Measure the length of your flat hand. My flat hand is 8.5cm (3.34″).
- Also measure your hand circumference by wrapping the tape measure comfortably around your hand. My hand circumference is 18.5cm (7.28″).
Glove Body Drafting
- Draw a line on the side of the pointing finger. And calculate how wide the glove body will be:
The flat hand consists of the back of the hand and the front of the hand: 8.5cm x 2 = 17cm (6.69″).
Then, calculate the difference between the hand circumference and the flat hand:
18.5cm – 17cm = 1.5cm (0.59″).
Divide the 1.5cm (0.59″) difference equally among the front pattern and the back pattern: 1.5cm /2 = 0.75cm (0.29″).
The 0.75cm (0.29″) will be added to the front and back pattern, divided equally among the four fingers. Therefore, 0.75cm /4 ( number of fingers) = 0.19cm (0.07″).
The 0.19cm (0.07″) is then what you add to each of the four fingers.
- As indicated in the image; add 0.19 cm (0.07″) to the side of the pointing finger and the small finger.
- Draw a straight line between the middle finger and the ring finger and cut through them on the line. Then, create an 0.38 cm (0.15″) gap between the middle finger and the ring finger. This will allow you to add 0.19 cm (0.07″) to them as well.
- After these additions the glove body width is then the correct size.
Glove Body: Back Pattern
- Increase the height of your four fingers by 0.2 cm (0.07″). And accurately draw in the top carves of the four fingers.
- Draw horizontal lines 90 degree to the guideline from the top of the thumb, and the base of the thumb towards the center of the pattern.
- Measure the length of the glove from the wrist and draw the length line perpendicular to the pattern. Glove Length (GL) is 10 cm (3.9″).
- From the Glove length (GL) add a hemming allowance of 2 cm (0.78″).
- As indicated in the image; carve the side of the pattern for a carved finish.
- And cut out the pattern.
- Extend the lines between the four fingers by 1.5 cm (0.59″).
- Pop holes through the original lengths and the extended lengths of the lines between the four fingers, so that they are traceable.
Glove Body: Front Pattern
- On a new sheet of paper, draw a guideline and place the back pattern against the guideline. Then trace the back pattern for the front pattern.
- To the front pattern, transfer only the original lengths of the lines between the four fingers.
- On the front pattern, draw in the lines between fingers and thumb position lines.
- Then, increase the height of your four fingers by 1 cm (0.39″). And extend the lines between the four fingers by 0.2 cm (0.07″).
- Draw a 1.5 cm (0.59″) pasting allowance on the side of the front pattern against the guideline and paste the back pattern to the front pattern. The back pattern should be attached flipped to its reversed side.
Glove Body: Thumb Hole
- Trace the side of your thumb on a paper and measure the width of your flat thumb (width of drawn thumb).
- My flat thumb width is 2 cm (0.78″).
- With a ruler, measure the width of the base of your thumb.
- The width of the base of my thumb is 3 cm (1.18″).
- Use the horizontal thumb position lines, and the center of pointing finger line to draw up the thumb hole. The thumb hole is drawn on the front side of the pattern.
- Measure the 3 cm (1.18″) base of thumb width equally across the center of pointing finger line, between the top of thumb and base of thumb line.
- And measure 0.5 cm (0.19″) above the top of thumb and below the base of thumb line.
- Then draw a tier drop shape thumb hole.
- Take the flat thumb width of 2 cm (0.78″) and measure it in the thumb hole as indicated in the image, to create the diamond shape within the thumb hole.
- And then, erase ‘line x’.
Thumb Pattern
- Measure your thumb circumference. My thumb circumference is 6 cm (2.36″).
- Fold a paper in half and trace the side of your thumb a distance away from the fold of the paper.
- First calculate how far from the fold to trace your thumb:
The thumb consists of two sides. Therefore, (flat thumb) 2 cm x 2 = 4 cm (1.57″).
Then calculate the difference between the thumb circumference and the flat thumb:
6 cm – 4 cm = 2 cm (0.78″).
To the 2 cm difference, add 1 cm (0.39″) movement allowance: 2 cm + 1 cm = 3 cm (1.18″).
Because this pattern will be drawn on divide 3 cm by 2: 3 cm /2 = 1.5 cm (0.59″).
- Therefore, trace the side of the thumb 1.5 cm (0.59″) away from the fold of the paper. And also mark, the base of thumb and the upper bone of the thumb on the line, as indicated in the image.
- Draw horizontal lines, on the top of the thumb, upper bone of thumb, and bottom carve of thumb as indicated in the image.
- Increase the height of the thumb by 0.5 cm (0.19″).
- Below the lines, at the upper bone of the thumb and the bottom carve of the thumb measure 1 cm (0.39″).
- Draw up the pattern through the extended height point, making sure the tracing is accommodated within the drawing. And continue to draw the base of the pattern, through the base of the thumb point.
- Draw a line against the side of the pattern and cut out the pattern through that line.
- Unfold the pattern and cut out the triangular piece as indicated in the image.
- On the other side of the pattern, measure the flat thumb width on the side of the bottom line. In this case, 2 cm (0.78″).
- And draw a straight line from the edge of the top line to the 2 cm (0.78″) point.
- Write indications and the thumb pattern is finished.
Fourchette Pattern
- On a new sheet of paper, draw a horizontal line. And then fold backward on the line.
- Then trace the sides of the four fingers on the paper.
- Draw a straight line at the back and top of each tracing.
- Measure 1 cm (0.39″) on the top of each tracing. And 1.5 cm (0.59″) on the bottom of each tracing from the horizontal line.
- Then, draw the pattern sketch as indicated in the image, making sure the tracing is accommodated within the sketch.
- Write indications and the fourchette pattern is done.
All the pattern pieces are now finished. And so, the basic glove pattern is done!
In the next blog I will give instructions on the sewing of this pattern.
Thank you.
