With chilly weather quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about gloves. But one big problem with most gloves is that you have to take them off (or make do with chilly fingertips in fingerless gloves) to use your touch screen devices. What’s worse than missing an important call because you can’t get your gloves off in time? Naturally the fiber industry has stepped in with a fantastic material – Conductive Thread! We now carry the thread, and a great pattern that makes use of it. The In Touch gloves feature a circuitry-inspired motif and small pads of Conductive Thread on the fingertips.
The way the thread works is by completing the circuit between your finger and the capacative touch screen of your phone, tablet or other device. As long as the thread touches both your finger and the screen, you can use the device just as you would with no gloves on at all! It doesn’t take much, either – only a few inches embroidered in a simple pattern is enough. The 4-5 yard spool of Conductive Thread is enough to embroider every finger on both hands, or several pairs of gloves. You can also choose where on the finger the thread goes, so that it’s just where you usually put pressure on your fingertips.
The thread has a slick but stiff texture; it won’t mar your devices but neither is it well suited to being knitted. The best way to use it is embroidery. Duplicate stitch doesn’t work as well, as it doesn’t offer as consistent a contact surface on the finger side, though different materials may yield different results. Wool tends to insulate very well, making it very important to have a good contact surface! Check out our video on these gloves (it’s on the pattern page under the ‘video’ tab), where I demonstrate them in use with a touchscreen phone.
The In Touch Gloves kit uses washable Stroll, though if you prefer different colors (or a different yarn), the pattern and Conductive Thread are available seperately as well. This fantastic product will help you stay in touch all winter long!