Sew New Year's Eve Fingerless Gloves
Light, glittering, and sophisticated— a romantic pair of fingerless gloves that will fulfill the most glamorous night of all!
This super simple tutorial teaches you to sew fingerless gloves from old, unused socks. Choose shimmering silk, ankle-length socks for glamorous, elegant look.
Gloves To Remenber
There comes a time when hand-made pieces become much more than just clothing — they turn into a loyal companion to your special occasions, gathering moments forever, and compliments along the way. That’s exactly how I feel about this shimmering pair of gloves which I made for a ball just before New Year’s Eve a decade ago. What used to be a simple pair of knee-length socks, unworn, unadjusted to my personal style, turned into one of my most favorite and simplest ideas, which has been following me over the years, and which always attract attention of curious eyes.
How It All Began
At the end of December 2015, another Pre-New-Year Ball was about to be held by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. My dancing community had been visiting this event for a couple of years at the time. For the occasion I’d already prepared a shimmering night gown. However, when I was trying out the dress with the rest of the accessories and shoes, something seemed to be missing. In one moment, while I was looking for adequate stockings to match the outfit, I came across old, almost unworn shimmering black nylon socks. And that was the moment I had the idea to sew a pair of new year gloves from them.
A Simple, Fast Method
I’m sure you’ve had numerous moments when in the last minute you realized you needed just one little piece of accessory to complete your formal, evening outfit. That’s the exact reason why I made these new year’s eve gloves from socks, and on the very same day of the ball that I mentioned above.
I can assure you that you’ll be able to make these gloves literally in an hour — a few cuts with scissors, a couple of hand stitches, finished off with a lacy border at the fingers and the elbow. Nothing complicated, just a dash of skill, a few seams, and your own desire to sparkle!
level
To make these fingerless gloves you will need elementary level of sewing skills and you don’t need any knowledge concerning construction. Not even a sewing machine!
size
The gloves are adaptable for your individual size.
material
- A pair of ankle-length socks, shimmering, silk, in your desired color/pattern; take lacy ones if you like
- A piece of elastic cold, about 1-1.5 mm thick
- 1 m of lace ribbon of your choice
- matching color thread
- scissors
- thin needle for hand sewing
Instructions
1. Cutting the Socks
As shown in photos below, cut the top, reinforced part of the socks with sharp scissors. Make sure to have the cut as straight and as even as possible on both socks.
1. Sewing Thumb Opening
Put on the glove on your free hand. With needle and thread, make a few stitches for the thumb as shown in the photos below. Then, sew a rubber loop for pulling your index or middle finger through it. Make sure you sew it on the top side only.
3. Border
For a more elegant look, sew the lacy ribbon onto the top and bottom parts of each glove by hand stitching, and… that’s all!
If you own a sewing machine, you should definitely use the opportunity to stitch the lacy border faster. In that case, it’s better to sew on the border before making the thumb opening.
The Last Word
The photos of a girl in a red dress were generated by artificial intelligence as my attempt to try out the possibilities of AI. The image below, however, is my real picture from the above mentioned ball, taken a decade ago.
The event was truly extraordinary, with an amazing number of guests, about 400 as we were told. Additionally, this celebration was always organized as a humanitarian event – free entrance but every guest was encouraged to donate a symbolic amount which was later used for charity and for prizes to the best students and professors of the faculty.
If you enjoyed reading about how to sew new year fingerless gloves from old socks, please share this post with all those creative people who’d like to give this project a try.
Do you have similar “last-minute” projects? Write in the comments and share your experiences and impressions.
💛Need more sewing inspiration?
This piece is just the beginning. See other sewing items here.