9.

Gloves
"A glove is the emblem of the faith" - Sir Walter Scott
1. Definition:

A glove is a garment covering the whole hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or
openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no (or a short) covering
sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless gloves having one large
opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes called gauntlets,
though gauntlets are not necessarily fingerless. Gloves which cover the entire hand or fist but
do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens. Mittens are warmer than
gloves made of the same material because fingers maintain their warmth better when they are
in contact with each other. Reduced surface area reduces heat loss.

2. History:
Gloves are of great antiquity and their story goes back to prehistoric times. They were
worn by cavemen to protect their hands and took the form of bags resembling a primitive
type of mitten - a glove with fingers and a gauntlet covering the forearm.

In England after the Norman Conquest, royalty and dignitaries wore gloves as a badge
of distinction. The glove became meaningful as a token; it became custom to fling a gauntlet
at the feet of the adversary, thereby challenging his integrity and inviting satisfaction by duel.
The glove to challenge personal battle became, and remained, an integral part of English Law
for nearly 800 years. It was a right any free man could claim.

In the 12th Century gloves became a definite part of fashionable dress. During the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I, no well-dressed woman would appear in public without them.
Gloves were becoming more accessible to the common people and their popularity grew.

In the 16thand 17th Centuries gloves were extravagantly ornamented; they were of
leather, linen, silk, or lace and were jewelled, embroidered, or fringed. After the 17th Century
however, the emphasis was on proper fit, and gloves became less ornamental.

Gloving centres began to develop on a wide scale from the 14th and 15th Centuries
onwards. By the 17th Century, London had become the hub of the glove trade on which
apprentices and journeymen, seeking a wider experience, converged.

In the early part of the 19th Century, the methods practiced in the glove industry were
little different from those pursued for hundreds of years. The most significant of these was
the establishment of glove sizes and method of cutting, which was devised by a French
Master Glover, Xavier Jouvin (1800 - 1844). He made use of uniformly proportioned knives,
graded for size, giving a constant shape for the makers and establishing a reliable fit.
Formerly, gloves were regarded as contingency merchandise. To find a pair, which fitted

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adequately, one had to try on several gloves. Now every hand could easily find the pair for its
size.

3. The Purpose of Gloves

Gloves would have initially been created or invented out of a necessity to fulfill a
specific function; later gloves became a popular item and eventually a fashionable one. Uses
for gloves increased and we find them used by many different people, in differing
occupations, throughout the ages.
Cavemen would have used them as a crude and rustic mitten type of covering, to
complete an uncomfortable task.
Roman times gloves of linen and silk are used to eat meat to keep their hands grease
free and clean
As the practice of Falconry, Archery and other occupations and interests became
popular in England, leather gloves began to be utilized and become an essential
clothing accessory for protection.
Glove popularity increased greatly when the humble glove became more of a fashion
statement by the aristocracy and gentry. As Kings, Queens, Bishops and Popes started
to wear gloves, initially in a symbolic nature, gloves started to become a statement of
wealth and power.
Gloves can serve to protect and comfort the hands of the wearer against cold or heat,
physical damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide
a guard for what a bare hand should not touch.
Latex, nitrile or vinyl disposable gloves are often worn by healthcare professionals as
hygiene and contamination protection measures.
Fingerless gloves are useful for cold environments where dexterity is required that
gloves would restrict. Cigarette smokers and church organists often use fingerless
gloves. Some gloves include a gauntlet that extends partway up the arm.
A washing glove is a tool for washing the body (one's own, or of a child, a patient, a
lover).
A data glove is an interactive device, resembling a glove worn on the hand, which
facilitates tactile sensing and fine-motion control in robotics and virtual reality

3. Types of glove
a. Gloves worn for protection
Thick gloves usually made of wool or fabrics are used to keep the hands warm in cold
weather. Thin gloves made of rubber or plastic or latex are used to keep the hands clean.
Heavy rubbers are used to protect the hands from chemicals. A mitten is a glove which has a
separate place for the thumb, but the other four fingers are together. Mittens are usually used
to protect people from cold, and chemicals.

b. Gloves worn for Sport and recreational

Gloves of made of different materials are used for different type of sports. Depending
on the requirement gloves either heavily padded for protection or made of thin leather for
grip. They include, Baseball glove or catcher's mitt: the players in the field wear these gloves

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to help them catch the ball and prevent injury to their hands; Boxing gloves- a specialized
padded mitten; Driving gloves intended to improve the grip on the steering wheel. Driving
gloves have external seams, open knuckles, open backs, ventilation holes, short cuffs, and
wrist snaps etc.

c. Gloves worn for Fashion

There are also gloves that are worn for fashion, because they look good. These type of gloves
are made from leather, fur, or different fabrics. Western lady's gloves for formal and semi-
formal wear come in three lengths: wrist ("matinee"), elbow, and opera or full-length (over
the elbow, reaching to the biceps). Satin and stretch satin are popular and mass-produced.
Some women wear gloves as part of "dressy" outfits, such as for church and weddings. Long
white gloves are common accessories for teenage girls attending formal events such as prom,
or formal ceremonies at church, such as confirmation.

d. Work oriented gloves

In Japan, white gloves are worn frequently. Work-oriented white gloves are worn for
activities such as gardening and cleanup; "dress" white gloves are worn by professionals who
want a clean public appearance, such as taxi drivers, police, politicians and elevator
operators. However white gloves are not recommended for touching old books and similar
antiquities.

e. Fingerless gloves
Fingerless gloves or "glovelettes" are garments worn on the hands which resemble
regular gloves in most ways, except that the finger columns are half-length and opened,
allowing the top-half of the wearer's fingers to be shown.

Fingerless gloves are often padded in the palm area, to provide protection to the hand,
and the exposed fingers do not interfere with sensation or gripping. In contrast to traditional
full gloves, often worn for warmth, fingerless gloves will often have a ventilated back to
allow the hands to cool; this is commonly seen in weightlifting gloves.

Fingerless gloves are worn by motorcyclists to better grip the handlebars, as well as
by skateboarders and rollerbladers, to protect the palms of the hands and add grip in the event
of a fall. Some anglers, particularly fly fishermen, favour fingerless gloves to allow
manipulation of line and tackle in cooler conditions. Fingerless gloves are common among
marching band members, particularly those who play the clarinet or open-hole flute, due to
the difficulty of covering small holes whilst wearing gloves. The lack of fabric on the
fingertips allows for better use of touchscreens, as on smartphones and tablet computers.

f. Leather gloves
A leather glove is a fitted covering for the hand with a separate sheath for each finger
and the thumb. This covering is composed of the tanned hide of an animal (with the hair
removed), though in recent years it is more common for the leather to be synthetic.

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g. Mittens
Gloves which cover the entire hand but do not have separate finger openings or
sheaths are called mittens. Generally, mittens still separate the thumb from the other four
fingers. They have different colours and designs. Mittens have a higher thermal efficiency
than gloves as they have a smaller surface area exposed to the cold.
Many people around the Arctic Circle have used mittens. Mittens are a common sight on ski
slopes, as they not only provide extra warmth but extra protection from injury.
Idiot mittens are two mittens connected by a length of yarn, string or lace, threaded
through the sleeves of a coat. This arrangement is typically provided for small children to
prevent the mittens becoming discarded and lost; when removed, the mittens simply dangle
from the string just beyond the cuff of the sleeve.

Gunner's Mittens In the 1930s, special fingerless mittens

were introduced that have a flap located in the palm of the mitten
so a hunter or soldier could have his finger free to fire his weapon.
Originally developed for hunters in the frigid zones of the US and
Canada, eventually most military organizations copied them.

Scratch mitts do not separate the thumb, and are designed to prevent babies who
do not yet have fine motor control - from scratching their faces.

4. Production:
i. Materials used: Gloves have been made of many materials including cloth, knitted or
felted wool, leather, rubber, latex, and metal (as in chain mail).
Today gloves are made around the world. Most expensive women's gloves are still
made in France, with some made in Canada. Best and well-known gloves manufacturers in
Europe are: Agnelle and Georges Morand in France, Santacana Complementos (Santacana
Madrid) in Spain and Portolano in Italy.For cheaper male gloves New York State, especially
Gloversville, New York is still a world centre of glove manufacturing. More and more glove
manufacturing is being done in East Asia, however.

i. a. Types of gloving leather

Lambskin is widely used for best fashion gloves and it is casual and country gloves.
It is the most used material for gloves made in Europe in the known as French style.
Cowhide is often used for lower-priced gloves. This leather is generally considered
too thick and bulky for the majority of glove styles, particularly finer dress gloves. It
is, however, used for some casual styles of glove.
Deerskin has the benefit of great strength and elasticity, but has a more rugged
appearance, with more grain on the surface, than "hairsheep". It is very hard-wearing
and heavier in weight.
Goatskin is occasionally used for gloves. It is hard-wearing but coarser than other
leathers and is normally used for cheaper gloves.
Hairsheep originates from sheep that grow hair, not wool. Hairsheep leather is finer
and less bulky than other leathers. Its major benefits are softness of touch, suppleness,
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 strength, and lasting comfort. It is very durable and is particularly suited for the
manufacture of dress gloves.
Peccary is the worlds rarest and most luxurious gloving leather. Peccary leather is
very soft, difficult to sew, and hard-wearing.
Sheepskin, also called shearling, is widely used for casual and country gloves. It is
very warm in cold weather, and as leather reversed, it has still attached wool on the
inside.
Slink lamb is used only in the most expensive lambskin gloves. Some of the finest
lambskin comes from New Zealand.

ii. Leather glove linings

Cashmere is warm, light in weight, and very comfortable to wear. Cashmere yarn
comes from the hair of mountain goats, whose fleece allows them to survive the
extreme weather conditions they are exposed to.
Silk is warm in winter and cool in summer and is used both in mens and womens
gloves, but is more popular in women's.
Wool is well known for its natural warmth and comfort, as well as having a natural
elasticity.
Other linings, which include wool mixtures and acrylics.

iii. Some glove terms

Button length is the measurement in inches that is used to determine the
length/measurement from the base of the glove thumb to the cuff of the glove.
Fourchettes are the inside panels on the fingers of some glove styles.
Perforations are small holes that are punched in the leather. They are often added for
better ventilation, grip, or aesthetics and can be as fine as a pin hole.
Points are the three, or sometimes single, line of decorative stitching on the back of
the glove.
Quirks are found on only the most expensive hand sewn gloves. They are small
diamond shaped pieces of leather sewn at the base of the fingers, where they are
attached to the hand of the glove to improve the fit.
A strap and roller is used to adjust the closeness of the fit around the wrist.
A Vent is the V shaped cut out of the glove, sometimes at the back, but more often
on the palm, to give the glove an easier fit
around the wrist.

iv. Component parts

The component parts that may be found in a
leather dress glove are
one pair of tranks,
one pair of thumbs,
four whole fourchettes,
four half fourchettes,

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 two gussets, and
six quirks.
Depending on the style of the glove there may also be roller pieces, straps, rollers,
eyelets, studs, sockets and domes. Finally, linings will themselves consist of tranks,
thumbs and fourchettes.

v. Stitching
The most popular types of leather glove sewing stitches used today are:
Hand stitched, which is most popular in mens gloves and some womens styles.
Hand stitching is a very time-consuming and skilled process.
Inseam, which is mainly used on womens gloves, but occasionally on mens dress
gloves.

5. Care of Leather Gloves:

Leather is a natural product with special characteristics that make it comfortable to
wear, and give it great strength and flexibility. As they are worn and used, leather gloves
(especially if they fit snugly) will conform to the wearer's hand. As this occurs the leather of
the glove will become more malleable, and thus softer and more supple. This process is
known as 'breaking-in' the glove. Overtime wear spots may appear on certain parts of the
palm and fingertips, due to the constant use of those areas of the glove. Creases and wrinkles
will appear on the palm side of the leather glove and will generally correspond to the
locations of the hinge joints of the wearer's hands.
Because the leather is natural as well as delicate, the wearer must take precaution as to
not damage them. The constant handling of damp or wet surfaces will discolor lighter-colored
gloves and stiffen the leather of any glove. The wearer will often unknowingly damage or
stain their gloves while doing such tasks as twisting a wet door knob or wiping a running
nose with a gloved hand.
Leather dress gloves that are worn very tight and possess very short, elasticized
wrists, are most often referred to as cop gloves or law enforcement gloves because of their
prevalence as issued duty gloves for many law enforcement agencies.