The Idea was to make a simple and good pair of gauntlets for my mid XIVth century kit. After all this work, I have to admit, that it was not that easy at all.
But before I was able to realize it, I had to have something, to act as a chassis.
In this case the chassis was the softer part of the structure!
I have decided to buy a pair of welder gloves, wich comes in a "nice" light greyish blue colour. They are quite cheap, they have long cuffs, and being produced of quite sturdy leather, and in the case of this project, this is really important, since a lot of strain will be put on it.
As soon as I tried on the gloves, I realized, that they have to be modified, since they were loose at the wrist, and long at my fingers, not to mention the unconfortable, wide construction of the thumb, wich limited the movement.
I had no other chance, I had to cut, then sew the parts, to achieve a snugger, yet not too tight fit. You can see the results on the picture below.
I removed some leather from the inner side of the thumb, and I placed the seam perpendicular to the base line of the thumb to the back of the glove. More material was removed from the tips of the fingers, from the side of the palm, and from the wrist area, wich was split on the bottom.
If you are about to sew leather, you need a puncheon, a pointy tool, sometimes it has got a diamond cross section. this is being used to pierce a row of holes, or rather little cuts (due to it's cross section) in a row. The angle of the tool is important. If the little holes are on one line, the thread could cut the weakened leather, and in place of nice little cuts, you'll have a long, torn wound on the leather.
If you place the holes perpendicular to the edge of the leather, the thread can rip them open too.
I used normal yarn, wich was tripled, than I have pulled them a few times on bee's wax. This last, magical material is not an essential need, but it makes your job mouch essayer.
There are two main ways of sewing that I have used in this project.
The first technique uses only one needle. This is being used, when we want to achieve a normal seam, just like on the outer side of trousers, where you can only see a little "groove" but no thread. This is done by turning the material inside out, and sew the two sides, like you were making a spiral with the needle.
The second technique is a bit more tricky. In this case, the result is going to be a flat seam.
First, you pierce the hole, and put the first needle into it, but do not pull it out on the other side. If the first needle is in, put the second one into the same spot, but facing the previous one. Pull both needles out, but only if they are both situated in the same hole. This is important, because if you have done the job on one, than on the other side, you would pull the first needle and thread out with the second one.
It's not that difficult, try it on a piece of spoilage!
Please note, that these are not the gloves, wich were used as the base of the gauntlet. They got way too dirty during the work. (And here is the first mistake I have made! ;) They serve now as a pair of great, cozy gloves in a workshop... Actually the right one is in a hole in the bellows...) The gloves used in later pictures are made with the same technique.
Have fun, and take care!
John
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The gloves before and after adjusting [ Download ]