Making gloves touch-screen compatible

Three days a week, we have 25 to 35 minutes called Bronco Time in the morning between classes. In addition to hosting silent reading time, we schedule programming during each of these sessions in the library. Yesterday, January 14, 2015, our session was how to convert regular gloves into touch-screen compatible gloves. 

The process is relatively easy as long as the gloves aren't very thick (or layered, since the stitching will attach any layers permanently). First, and most importantly, begin with conductive thread and needles. The thread conducts the energy from the skin to the outside of the glove so that the device senses the conductive thread as if it were skin. In other words, you can text at ten below without taking off your gloves.

I first tried finding conductive thread at Hobby Lobby, but the woman in the fabric department looked at me as if I was plotting something awful when I told her what the thread does. Of course, being a scruffy six foot five inch, two hundred sixty pound guy in a fabric store might've had something to do with her reaction.  I only bought needles there. I found the spool pictured here for $29 on Amazon.

With needle, thread, scissors, and gloves at the ready, the sewing can commence. To get the conductive thread to work properly, it needs to have sufficient contact with the skin. Therefore, we started sewing at the base of the palm and weaving the thread in and out, up the glove toward the index finger or thumb. Once at the pad of the index finger, or on the general outside of the thumb (most of us don't use the pad of our thumb to swipe), sew a lot of loops so that most of the thread is on the outside where the material will touch the device. You might stop there and tie off, but I chose to sew the conductive thread back down to the base of the palm weaving in and out to be sure there was sufficient contact with the skin to conduct through the thread.

Repeat with as many fingers or pairs of gloves as necessary!