How leather gloves are made
A glove cutter squeezes about 11.5 inches of damp leather into a 9-inch length, so the glove stretches across the hand.
- stations
- 7
- things upstream
- 40
- raw sources
- 16
- steps from the ground
- 8
The short version
A leather glove starts as tanned skin that is dampened and stretched by hand. A cutter marks out the pair, and a hydraulic press stamps the shape on a hand-shaped metal frame. The thumb and the narrow strips between the fingers are sewn in. A silk, wool or cashmere lining is added last, and the glove is shaped on a heated hand form.
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Dampen and stretch the skin
Skins are moistened to make them supple, then pulled along their length to refine the grain. A glover looks for flaws and works out where each glove will sit on the skin.
Goes in -
Table-cut the blanks
Cardboard patterns are laid on either side of the spine, and the leather is pulled by hand so about 11.5 inches goes into a 9-inch length. This makes the stretch in the finished glove run across the hand.
11.5 in drawn to 9 in
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Press out the shape
The blank is stamped onto a metal frame with sharpened edges by a hydraulic press. Each size has its own frame, with inserts for different styles.
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Stitch the shell
Any decoration on the back goes in first. The separate thumb, the three strips between the fingers called fourchettes and the small triangles called quirks are then joined on.
Goes in -
Add the lining
A winter glove gets a lining of silk, wool or cashmere, cut and stitched as its own glove and fixed inside the shell. With a lining, a pair can run to 52 pieces.
Goes in -
Shape on a hand form
A small machine spreads the fingers to test the seams. The glove then goes on a heated hand form, which sets the leather and gives it its final shape.
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Pair and pack
Gloves are paired by color and size, inspected and packed.
Worth repeating
- Dents still sews on Singer machines so old that the only way to repair them is with parts from equally old models.
- In 17th-century France, glove makers who also scented their leather with musk and ambergris became a recognized trade of their own.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and leather gloves starts as these 16 raw sources.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How leather gloves are made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/winter-gloves