Easy DIY Touchscreen Gloves

Colder temps mean that whipping out your phone to check a text can be a chilly business. There are a lot of touchscreen gloves on the market, but why not DIY some, especially since there’s a such a thing as conductive yarn these days! I, obviously, love knitting and crochet a lot, but making a full out pair of gloves can take a chunk of time. Also, who hasn’t worn the tip off a pair of cheapo gas station gloves? This project lets you knit or crochet conductive tips (I’m calling ’em thimbles) for store bought gloves in an evening.

Supplies

1 pair cheap, store-bought knit gloves -Ideally already with a hole in them – recycle!
SilverSpun Sport Yarn from Feel Good Yarn -Get a kit for these thimbles here.
size F crochet hook -for crochet version, of course
US size 4 double pointed knitting needles -for knitted version
scissors
tapestry needle
sewing thread that matches your gloves

Conductive Yarn Crochet Pattern

Abbreviations

rnd – round
ch – chain
sl – slip
sts – stitches
sc – single crochet
sc 2 in 1 – single crochet 2 sts in one space
(X sts) – the number of sts that will be in the round after increasing or decreasing

Crochet pattern:

Form a magic loop, and sc 4 sts in loop. sl to join 4 sts into a ring. Pull tail to tighten.
rnd 1. ch 1, (sc 1, sc 2 in 1) twice, sl to join (6 sts)
rnd 2. ch 1, (sc 2, sc 2 in 1) twice, sl to join (8 sts)
rnd 3. ch 1, (sc 3, sc 2 in 1) twice, sl to join (10 sts)
rnds 4-5. ch 1, sc around

For people with larger fingers, and for your thumbs, repeat rnd 4 an additional time or two. The yarn has some stretch to it, so I recommend working until you like the fit you prefer!

Break yarn and weave in ends to finish.

Conductive Yarn Knitting Pattern

Abbreviations

CO – cast on
sts – stitches
DPNs – double pointed needles
rnd – round
k – knit
k2tog – k 2 sts together as one
(X sts) – the number of sts that will be in the round after increasing or decreasing

Knitting pattern:

CO 10 sts on US size 4 DPNs and join into a rnd.
rnds 1-3. k 10 around
rnd 4. (k3, k2tog) twice (8 sts)
rnd 5. k8 around
rnd 6. (k2, k2tog) twice (6 sts)
rnd 7. k6 around
rnd 8. (k1, k2tog) twice (4 sts)

For people with larger fingers, and for your thumbs, repeat rnd 1 an additional time or two. The yarn has some stretch to it, so I recommend working until you like the fit you prefer!

Break yarn and draw through remaining loops. Weave in ends to finish.

How to attach conductive thimbles to your gloves

Now for the easy part! Snip the appropriate tip(s) off of your cheap gloves as shown. If you’ve got gloves with worn out fingertips already, just use your scissors to clean up and even out the edge you’ll be working with.

Put your tips-snipped glove on your non-dominant hand. Using regular old sewing thread and a tapestry needle, use a whip stitch to attach your thimbles to the fingertips of your gloves. Work all the way around the outside of your finger, being careful to catch enough of your snipped glove to keep it from raveling. Since the gloves themselves are likely knit, this is a good step to remember!

When you’re done, no matter how many tips you make, the finished gloves will look something like this. And yes, they totally work! No more freezing fingers while you check your notifications this fall!

Looking ahead to Christmas in a few months, you might want to get your hands on Feel Good Yarn’s Touchscreen Thimble Kit that was made with this pattern in mind. You get a nice little project bag and 25 yards each of all of the colors SilverSpun comes in. These gloves come together really quickly, and would make excellent stocking stuffers for the family, especially teens and busy spouses!

This tutorial got lengthly, so I’ll be doing a full review of Feel Good Yarn Company’s SilverSpun, the yarn used to make these fun gloves, next month. Feel Good Yarn is made with actual silver, that’s not only conductive, but has amazing therapeutic properties too. Stay tuned!

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Yarn used in this design was provided by Feel Good Yarn.