Wet-Felted Fingerless Gloves (Arm Warmers)

Measuring out a mere 16 grams of merino roving per glove...



...and laying out a verrrrrry fine layer of fiber on side one of the resist. 

 

With only two meager layers per side...

...it's important that you lay the wool out as evenly as possible.



Removing the resist, mid-way through felting. 

 

The fully felted (but still damp) glove...



...and, here, pinned into shape on a 'pool noodle' base.

 

The finished gloves (at first)...

...and after removing all but two of the 'fingers'. :) 

The 'computer corner' of my studio is very near a window...

...and it can be a bit nippy to work here during the colder months.

I'd often thought that a pair of fingerless gloves would be a nice thing to have...

...and now I've finally gotten around to making myself a pair!

Based on the 'mid-week sharing' of Marjolein Dallinga's class at 2011's 'Fling'...

...I endeavored to recreate their project, but with the addition of short 'fingers'! :)

Since the felt needed to be quite soft and flexible...

...I tried hard to make the wool layers thin enough, but still even.

To be sure, there are some areas on each glove that are a bit too thin...

...but, luckily, the ruching provides a bit of camouflage! :)

After 'test driving' them with all of the 'fingers' at first and finding them constricting...

...I removed all but one ring of felt (for the middle finger) on each glove...

...and now they're much more comfortable (and still stay 'on'!).

Stalled WIP-Felted Winter Gloves

 

 

 

 

A month ago, with the help and encouragement of my wonderful friend Kim, I began my first pair of gloves.

I had been wanting to use the acid-green mohair that came from these adorable angora goats for some time now.

I just love this wild color!!

As Kim advised, if you try these, remember to make a bump at the 'wrist' of your resist...

...whew...what a tongue twister!...

...or else you will never get them on after felting.

She also suggested...

...(after my failure, when I wrote to her, asking for suggestions)...

...wrapping the other fingers in plastic as you work on each one...

...something that had eluded me as I struggled to keep the gloves from turning into mittens! Grin.

My biggest difficulty, however, was that I had made the fatal felting foible of not making a sample first!

So, yes, I was lazy and I got what I got...

...which is a pair of gloves that look adorable...

...but which never fully felted and are still 'hairy and slippery', inside and out.

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The fix, Kim advises, is to cover them with a fine layer of wool that I know felts well...

...but because I found this project rather difficult and trying...

...the idea of wrapping each finger again is not 'sending me anywhere'.

So here they sit...

...for now.