 |
| Shooting Glove |
I got some new arrows for my birthday so I'm looking forward to start shooting again as soon as the snow disappears. Until now I've always shot without any protection but I'm ready to step it up a bit so I thought I'd make myself a traditional shooting glove as well as an arm guard to prevent the bowstring from hurting if it hits my arm.
The shooting glove just covers the fingertips of the three middle fingers that hold the bowstring, which can be quite abrasive after a while when you let got of it.
I still had some bark-tanned deer hide so I thought it would be a nice way to use it.
 |
| Holes for the Three Fingers |
 |
| Pattern for a Finger |
The first step was to form the fingertips. To do so, I cut a T-shaped piece about 3.5 inches wide by 2 inches tall, with a "tail" 1 inch wide and 5 inches long. I have small hands so make sure you cut the piece a little larger if you need to.
The trick is that the wide part will fold back onto the tail, with its sides rolled in, as shown in the picture above. Each side of the head of the T should reach about the center line of the tail.
With a punch awl, punch a few holes where the sides of the T meet the tail, as shown in the picture to the right.
Then, starting from the tip of the finger, lace each side with a simple running stitch.
Usually you'd want your knots to be hidden on the inside but I thought it'd be more comfortable to have them on the outside for greater grip and comfort. It's definitely not as visually appealing but it works.
 |
| The T Folded Back on the Tail and Stitched Rolled In |
Each finger is a little different so start by making a pattern for your middle finger. Your index finger will be very slightly smaller, and your ring finger smaller still, but not by much. Make sure the finger glove fits comfortably but snuggly.
The "tail" for each piece should run the length of your fingers and stop about halfway down your hand. They can then each be sewn to a larger piece that covers the back of your hand down past your wrist. I sewed my fingers with a cross-stitch pattern, which I explained on how to make a light buckskin shirt.
If you need more guidance on how to sew with buckskin in general, check out my new post on the subject by clicking here.
 |
| The Fingers are Attached to the Hand with a Cross-Stitch |
 |
| Strip of Hide Attached to the Wrist |
For the closing mechanism, think that you will only be able to operate it with your one non-dominant hand, so make sure it's easy to handle.
I chose to attach a 1x10 inch strip with a stiff end to the wrist, so that it could go all the way around my wrist and be threaded easily under the stitches after being tapered.
 |
| The Strap Around the Wrist is Securely Threaded Under the Stitches |
Put the glove on and make sure that the fingertip covers stop before reaching the second articulation of each finger, to allow for full range of movement. I had to trim mine a little bit in a half-circle with some scissors.
 |
| The Glove Should Only Cover Half of Each Finger. |
Now for the arm guard, I switched back to buckskin because I thought it would make less noise than a bark-tanned hide if the bow string hit it. I used the thickest piece I had and it just covers the inside of my forearm. The pattern is about 8 inches long by 5 inches wide, though it's slightly more narrow at the wrist.
 |
| Buckskin Arm Guard - Outside View |
Similarly to the shooting glove, you have to think that you should be able to cinch it tight around your arm with only one hand.
I made four half-inch slits slightly to the inside of the four corners and threaded two half-inch thongs through them at the ends. The thongs are long enough that they can go around my arm 1.5 times. I also made a slit at one end of each thong so that the other (tapered) end could be threaded through it.
 |
| Buckskin Arm Guard - Inside View |
I can put my arm through the loops and then pull on the tapered ends to cinch the arm guard tight.
 |
| Well Protected! |
 |
| And Ready to Go Hunting! |
Thank you so much for this good idea,
ReplyDelete