DIY Monogramming Gloves

J's mom took me to a large second hand store while we were in Ohio to search for Christmas gifts. I found a pair of long evening gloves that were made in West Berlin, so they are older than I am. The gloves are in great condition and inspired me for my niece Gabriella's Christmas gift. I knew they needed to be embellished in order to make them special, so I decided to attempt beading for the first time. This project cost me $7 because my mother-in-law had all the beading materials on hand and sweetly shared with me.

To pick a font for my G, I went to Google's list of fonts. I ended up choosing Alex Brush because it was scripty without being cursive, meaning it stood a chance of being identifiable as a G rather than a loopy jumble. G's are hard, y'all. Alex Brush also has a bit of a vintage look to it, which is perfect for these long gloves.

Once I chose my font, I made my stencil. I enlarged the G until it looked about right on my computer screen for the size of the gloves. Then, I held tissue paper over the computer screen and traced the outline of my G (my little sister Natalia taught me that trick). Don't press too hard!

Just to make sure that the beads I chose would work with the G, I laid them out over the stencil. As you will see very shortly, I am definitely not an expert beader; my stitched beads did not turn out nearly as organized as they are in the picture below.

Once I was satisfied with the size and shape of my G, I pinned the tissue paper stencil to the first glove. From the time I stitched the first bead to when I knotted the last bead off, about 3 hours had passed. Good thing I love my niece. My mother-in-law gave me the tip of knotting off every three beads or so before continuing on so that in the event a stitch breaks while the gloves are being worn, only a few beads will be lost.

I took a few days break in between the two gloves, but fortunately my G's were similar in shape. The top of the G ended up much flatter than I had intended, but I am quite fond of my first beading attempt. Below is the finished first glove. My approach to crafting is fearlessness; you can always undo a stitch or slap on another coat of paint, but you will never know until you try!

Interested in more low budget gift ideas? Check out the $5 Christmas gifts I gave to my siblings in 2013!