RingFingers: Gloves With Room For Your Fingers

Abstract

What distinguishes my glove from the standard leather glove is the slits, or openings, under which rings have room to sit comfortably and naturally. In addition, the slits or openings are backed by the same durable leather or suede such that ring gemstones or prongs cannot shred, rip, tear or penetrate through the top of the glove.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The same Applicant, Lisa Lane Allanson, filed an Application for a provisional patent for the same invention on Dec. 22, 2008, Application Ser. No. 61/203,207, Confirmation number 3395.

STATEMENT REGARDING RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Living in cold Michigan winters I have been frustrated for decades with the fact that women's leather dress or driving gloves are so tight that you cannot even wear a wedding ring underneath them in the winter. If you love to wear rings, you can't comfortably wear them in the winter with any leather glove that is currently on the market. In addition, if you choose to wear rings under a knit or stretch glove of some type, the knit or stretch fabric tends to rip, tear and shred from sharp-edged gemstones or metal prongs of the ring.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

My invention has two (2) purposes: 1) Allows rings to be worn comfortably in a leather glove; and 2) provides a functional leather insert between the knuckles of the fingers and hand which a) conceals the jewelry being worn and b) protects against wear and tear from sharp edges of rings (gemstones or prongs). The insert is more durable than knit or other fabrics used in non-leather gloves currently on the market.

My glove is substantially different from what is currently on the glove market, but the idea of and need for creating an opening for rings apparently has not been obvious or ever considered by previous or existing glove manufacturers. My idea is to take a basic simple leather glove design and alter it as simply as possible to provide room for the wearing of rings. The alteration is made only on the back or knuckle side of each glove, and involves the making of small slits along the length of each finger between the knuckles and attaching an insert behind those slits cut from a contrasting color of material such that when rings are worn, the slits expand to give room for the ring and to show a hint of bright color. If a ring is not worn, the slits lay flatter but still show a bit of color. My glove invention makes the ordinary leather glove much more functional in that it allows a woman to comfortably and discreetly wear rings under the glove. It provides a purposeful alternative to existing leather gloves on the market for women who wear jewelry or for the millions of women in cold weather climates who at least want to wear their wedding rings in the winter.

For warmth, one layer of lining is attached to the front or palm-side of each glove.

My glove is identified with the attachment of a small “ring” charm on the left wrist and a RingFingers logo label sewn into the left-hand glove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Pattern

a. Use Vogue Pattern No. 8311, Glove Style C. An industrial sewing machine is not required. However, a strong thread appropriate for leather should be used. The Vogue pattern will be altered. Specifically, Steps 8, 9, and 10 of the Pattern as it pertains to Style C will be omitted and new steps described below will be added.

Materials

a. For the glove, use velvet pigskin suede or other garment type leather. Select two contrasting colors. Use one color as the primary color for the glove, which includes back (knuckle) side and front (palm) side tranks, thumbs and gussets. Use the other color for the contrasting insert placed beneath the fingers of the back side of each glove.

b. For the lining, use fleece, faux suede, or a knit of appropriate weight lining. Knits allow for more stretch. Only the thumbs and the front side of each glove trank will be lined.

Cutting Directions

a. Lay out the pattern pieces for the back (8) trank, front (5) trank, thumb (6) and three gussets (4) for the glove on the leather of the primary color, and cut out. Repeat for the other hand. Follow Step 3 of Instruction sheet to cut out the thumb opening on the front trank. DO NOT cut to separate fingers on the back or front tranks yet.

b. Lay out the front (5) trank pattern piece (this piece has the thumbhole marked) and the thumb (6) pattern piece on the lining fabric. Cut out for both hands. Do not cut out the thumbhole yet. Trim away ¼ inch of the hem of the lining so that it is ¼ inch shorter than its corresponding leather piece.

Tack the Lining to the Leather of the Thumb and the Front (5) Trank

a. Tack the thumb lining to the leather thumb piece wrong sides together. Dab lightly with glue only around the edge of the wrong side of the leather thumb piece, and then carefully lay the lining right side up on the wrong side of the leather being careful not to stretch the lining. Repeat for the other thumb piece. Let dry completely several hours.

b. Tack the trank lining to the under (palm) side trank of the leather piece wrong sides together. Dab lightly with glue around all the edge on the wrong side of the leather piece (the fingertips, each side of the wrist, ¼ inch above the hem), the “Vs” of the fingers, and around the edge of the thumbhole. Carefully lay the lining right side up on the wrong side of the leather piece without stretching the lining, keeping in mind that the shortened lining will be ¼ inch above the hemline of the leather piece. Repeat for the other hand. Let dry completely several hours. Then trim away the thumbhole of the lining.

c. Mark pattern markings (small circles, large circles, cutting lines for the fingers) on the right side of the lined side of the thumb pieces and the under side of trank pieces.

d. Follow Step 4 of the Instruction sheet to reinforce inner corners on front, and then slash between fingers.

e. Follow Steps 5-7 of the Instruction sheet to attach the thumb to the front trank.

Attach the Contrasting Leather Insert to the Back (8) Trank

a. Trace the back (8) trank pattern piece to pattern paper or tracing paper to make a copy.

b. Working on this copy, mark the hand knuckle¹ line crosswise on the paper pattern. Place a dot at the intersection of this crosswise hand knuckle line and the center of each of the four fingers. Beginning at each of the four dots, mark four straight lines 1½ inches in length centered between each finger towards the finger tips. (The tops of each 1½ inch slit should end well below the corresponding finger knuckles.) [1] The hand knuckles are to be distinguished from the knuckles on each finger. Hand knuckles are those which are below the finger “Vs”.

c. Use this pattern piece copy to carefully mark and cut out the four 1½ inch slits on the back trank leather piece with a fixed blade utility knife or a sharp one-sided razor blade. Set aside this leather piece.

d. Continuing to work on the paper pattern copy, draw a crosswise line connecting the top of each of the 1½ inch slits. Now you have two crosswise lines on this paper pattern. To create a pattern piece for the contrasting leather insert, mark a line ½ inch above the top crosswise line and mark a line ½ inch below the bottom crosswise line. Use this pattern to cut out the contrasting leather insert ensuring that this contrast leather piece has stretch in the crosswise direction. Tape or glue the contrast leather piece right side (suede side) up to the wrong side of the back trank. Sew to attach the contrast leather insert to the back trank along the sides of the glove less than ⅛ inch from the edge.

e. Machine stitch a single stitch back and forth 5 times at the top and bottom points of each of the slits to reinforce and prevent the leather from tearing during wear. Tie the ends of the threads underneath on the wrong side of the leather. Use double stick tape to attach little squares of leather to hide the threads.

f. Mark pattern markings (small circles, large circles, cutting lines for the fingers) on the wrong side of the back trank with the attached contrasting leather insert.

g. Follow Step 12 of the Instruction sheet to reinforce the inner corners of each finger. Sew on the wrong side of the leather. Then slash along slash line between fingers.

Attach the Tranks and Gussets

a. Follow Step 13 of the Instruction sheet to attach the front (5) and back (8) tranks together.

b. To attach each gusset, first sew the continuous straight side of a gusset to the back trank, matching gusset letters to corresponding fingers and matching symbols. Then stitch the dart for the gusset. Afterwards, stitch the other side of the gusset to the front trank, centering the Vs at the turn, matching circles and dots, and easing in fullness where necessary. Repeat for all the remaining gussets.

Finishing the Gloves

a. Insert a ¼ inch×1 inch strip of leather through a “Ring” ornament, and stitch this loop along the side seam of the left glove opposite the thumb side about 1½ inches up from the hem. Follow Step 16 of the Instruction sheet to stitch front and back tranks together at the sides in a ⅛ inch seam.

b. Fold up ½ inch from the hem to create a narrow hem on lower edge. Just fold once, not twice, to create the hem. Insert a RingFingers label to the inside wrist side of left hand glove as you hem.

c. Turn both gloves right side out.

Claims

1. What I claim as my invention is the novel but functional alteration of a standard leather glove by the addition of four (4) vertical slits or openings in the fingers of each glove, which openings extend from the finger knuckles to the hand knuckles such that rings worn by the glove wearer can fit comfortably in the glove. In addition, the openings are backed by a contrasting color leather insert the purpose of which is to conceal the rings worn (i.e., if precious gemstones or diamonds are worn) and to provide a strong and durable material which will not tear, snag or rip from the wearing of sharp-edged stones or ring prongs. My glove is a significant improvement over the standard leather glove and the new design makes it much more comfortable and useful for millions of women.