Craft Check: Gaming Gloves
January 2008 Issue
Features
- From the Editors
- Craft Check: Gaming Gloves
- Gaming in the Media: Women Working in Games - 5 Viewpoints, 2 Ways to Play
- Market to Me: Women as players
- Gamer vs Gamer: An old debate for the new year: casual vs. hardcore
Interviews
- Industry Interview: Naomi Clark
- Blogger Interview: Mighty Ponygirl [Feminist Gamers]
Articles
- Gender & Live-Action Role Play: Reality Repackaged
Author: Samara Hayley Steele
- Planning a Women-Only Gaming Group
Author: Robyn Fleming
- Celebrating women in the industry
Author: Andrea Rubenstein
- Choosing Imitation Over Innovation
Author: Richard Pilbeam
In this ongoing series, Samara shares her experiences as a female LARPer in a male-dominated LARP Organization.
Robyn outlines the trials and tribulations of organizing an all-women gaming group.
Andrea looks at some of the influential women in the video game and tabletop gaming industry.
Richard discusses ways in which imitation and a lack of innovation help to perpetuate sexist themes in games produced by the RPG Maker community.
Gamer Stories
Reviews
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Retro Review: Pitfall!
Odds 'n Ends
I improvised this fingerless “glove” (they would be more properly called wrist-warmers, I believe) pattern when my heater broke down one winter semester and I had a lot of papers due. I needed something that would help keep my hands warm, but which left me freedom of movement so that I could type. Later, I discovered that these gloves work as well for gamers as they do for students, allowing one to keep toasty while handling a controller, stylus or pencil just as easily as a keyboard and mouse.
Unlike most of the Craft Check projects we’ve featured so far, this one does require a little bit of previous experience with the medium, but if you can master (or know already) the very basics of crochet, you’ll find these gloves easy to turn out. And they’re endlessly adaptable for those craving more of a crochet challenge.
Cost: inexpensive. If you already have some leftover yarn and a crochet hook, this craft is practically free. If you need to buy everything new, you can still do it for under $5, US.
Time: a couple of hours. I often do a pair of these while watching a movie.
Skill level: you need to know how to chain and single crochet. If you’re an old hand at crochet, this will be easy. If you’ve never done it before and want to give it a try, you can find instructions for these two simple stitches in any of several books available at your local craft or book store, as well as online.
Equipment:
- Yarn. I used Caron Simply Soft in raspberry and pink for this tutorial, but nearly any yarn will work. You probably want to use something washable.
- Crochet hook appropriate for your yarn (I used a US size K). If you’re new to this, most yarn labels have a suggested hook size printed on them.
- Scissors
- (optional) Yarn needle to help weave in ends.
Get your stuff together, pop in a good DVD, and get ready to make some gloves.
Step 1: Chain
Begin by creating a chain that will comfortably wrap around your hand. With the yarn and hook I was using, this was 25 stitches in length, for me. These gloves tend to be stretchy, so don’t worry about getting it exactly right, but do your best.
Write the length of your chain down somewhere so that when you make your second glove they’ll look the same.
Step 2: Join
Make a loop with your chain, and connect the ends together with a single crochet stitch. Try not to twist the chain as you do this, but don’t worry too much if you do – this is a forgiving pattern.
Step 3: Make the palm
Continue around the loop you made with single crochet. After the first round, you’ll see that you’re making a tube that fits over the palm of your hand.
Keep spiraling around this tube with your single crochet stitch until the tube extends from the base of your fingers down to your thumb. For me, this was eight rows.
Step 4: Thumb hole
Chain one to turn, and then single crochet back the way you came. You’re going to make a square hole in the glove for your thumb. I found that I needed a hole that was three stitches wide to accommodate my thumb, so I did 22 stitches, turned again, and repeated this process until I had crocheted four rows.
At this point, you should have a tube with a short rectangular bit on the bottom.
Next, chain the stitches necessary to bridge the thumb hole (three, for me), and connect the chain up on the other side. Now you have a tube with a hole in it.
Step 5: Make the wrist
From here, simply continue around with single crochet as you did to create the palm part of the glove, forming a tube for your wrist as long as you’d like it to be. I did 12 rows for the gloves pictured here.
Step 6: Finish
Repeat all of the steps above to create your second glove. Then, tie off all of your loose ends and weave them in (a needle can be helpful, here), and add any embellishments you like. For the example gloves, I crocheted two rows in a spiral around the thumb holes to add some visual interest and make the fit more precise.
You can try using an assortment of yarns and adding a variety of extra touches – these gloves are quick enough to work up that you might as well outfit your friends, or make several pair for yourself.
Enjoy your gaming gloves!
