You’ve got your trusty sewing machine and beautiful free quilting pattern but what now? You need a quilting glove!
Quilting gloves are a type of fabric glove with special textured surfaces which provide grip. These grippy areas allow you to easily hold your fabric while you manoeuvre and feed it through your sewing machine.
Machine quilting gloves are a must-have quilting accessory and will make your stitching process smoother and less painful (most quilting gloves also help to support your wrists, fingers and arms).
To help you find the perfect pair, we’ve collected nine of the best quilting gloves. They range in price and style, but all do the job brilliantly.
Once you’ve found your ideal quilting gloves keep scrolling as you’ll find some advice, top tips and alternatives.
9 of the best quilting gloves on the market
1. Machingers Quilting Gloves
Machingers sell one of the most popular free motion quilting gloves on the market. Known for their breathable and flexible fabric, these quilting gloves are both comfortable and cooling.
They have enhanced wrist support and super grippy fingertips, allowing you to feed your fabric through your machine with ease. There’s a range of sizes available and we love that these quilting gloves are machine washable!
Top tip: Rub an oil-based soap into the fingertips of the quilting gloves to make them last longer!
2. Regi’s Grip Quilting Gloves
Regi's 30-Finger Grip Gloves are designed with quilters in mind. This clever three-finger design ensures your hands don’t get too hot while quilting.
The thumb, index finger and ring finger are the ones most used in quilting, so these are covered for extra grip, while the other two are left uncovered for maximum breathability. The fabric is also covered with small nubs to make them non-slip.
Not only that but these quilting gloves are made from 95% rayon and 5% lycra making them airy and light. There’s plenty of sizes available, ranging from XS-XL. We think these are a great option.
3. Marcia Baraldi Quilting Grip Gloves
Marcia Baraldi’s machine quilting gloves have wrist health in mind! Their ergonomic design forces you to use pressure from your palms, not your wrists or fingers. This will help you to achieve better posture too – ideal for quilters who spend long hours at their machines.
We also love that these quilting gloves are fingerless, giving you the freedom to cut, measure or even take a sip of tea without having to remove them. You can tell a professional quilter designed these gloves!
4. Dritz Creative Crafter's Quilting Gloves
If you’re looking for more of an all-round crafting glove, this is the one for you. Created by Dritz, their quilting glove aims to support your hands while you craft.
Made from 92% cotton and 8% spandex, they claim to reduce arthritis pain and swelling. They’re also sweat-free too, thanks to their fingerless style and cotton material.
They’re ideal for quilters who are looking for gloves with a focus on reducing pain, as opposed to improving grip. If you’re more interested in graspability, we’d recommend purchasing quilting gloves with textured pads (either on the fingertips or palms).
5. Sew Mate Deluxe Machine Quilting Gloves
Sew Mate’s free motion quilting gloves have hundreds of rave reviews! Comfy and sturdy, they'll allow you to manoeuvre your quilt top easily.
They can be worn on either side as the whole fingertip, not just the pad of the finger, is covered with graspable nubs.
However, there is only one size available which is worth bearing in mind. Make sure you head down to our section on what size gloves you need before you purchase.
Looking for a new sewing machine?
Head over to our complete guide to the best sewing machines. It includes budget machines, luxury machines and sewing machines designed for beginners!
6. DEX FIT Cru553 Cut Resistant Quilting Gloves
These machine quilting gloves are brilliant as they’re cut-proof! Not only will you find it easy to hold onto your fabric, but you’ll also be safe from your sewing needle too.
The DEX FIT Cru553 quilting gloves have a water-based rubber coating, giving them great flexibility and strength. This also means they work with touch screens so no need to take them off when selecting a length on a computerised sewing machine.
Plus they come in sizes XS-XL and in lots of cute colourways!
7. Wondergrip Quilting Gloves
Wondergrip’s free motion quilting gloves give good traction on the fabric. One side is covered with a textured, nitrile palm coating and the other is made from a comfy nylon knit.
Machine washable and available in lots of colours, these quilting gloves are both practical and pretty!
8. Sew Easy's Quilting Gloves
Sew Easy’s quilting gloves are the cheapest ones we’ve found. At just £4.75, they’re a wonderfully affordable option perfect for beginners.
These gloves have rubberised grip dots on both sides of the fingertips adding to their non-slip ability. Created from nylon with added polyester, these gloves have a wonderful fit.
9. Quilting Gloves by Grabaroo
Grabaroo are fantastic all round crafting gloves but they really come into their own when used in quilting. Their PVC fingertips prevent slippage and give you more control over your fabrics.
An added bonus is the vibrant purple which does more than just look good! White quilting gloves will often absorb the dye of your fabrics, quickly becoming stained.
The purple colouring prevents this meaning they’ll look brand new for longer. Plus they’re machine washable!
Why wear quilting gloves?
Wearing quilting gloves has a multitude of benefits. They allow you to grip your fabric easily, move your fabric around smoothly and can alleviate the pressure on your wrists, arms and neck.
Quilting gloves are ideal for beginners too. Many new quilters struggle with grip and find their fabric and layers slip as they’re stitching. This can be frustrating and cause of many mistakes and messy stitches.
Investing in a pair of quilting gloves is a smart idea – you’ll be thanking us later!
What kind of gloves can I use for quilting?
The best kind of gloves for quilting are ones specifically designed for the task. Quilting gloves differ from all other gloves, including other crafting gloves.
Their trademark rubber fingertips, breathable fabric and lightweight material make them stand out and are perfect for the job.
Gardening gloves are very similar but you’ll find them heavy and bulky when quilting. We’d recommend investing in one of the quilting gloves in our round-up. They’ll quickly become your go-to quilting tool.
What size quilting gloves should I get?
The size of your quilting gloves depends on the size of your hands. The easiest way to determine what size you’ll need is to try on and measure a pair of gloves you already own.
These could be cycling gloves, winter gloves or even wedding gloves! Take the measurements and compare them with the quilting gloves you’re looking at.
Alternatively, you can measure your hand. Take a measuring tape and measure from the bottom of your palm to the top of your middle finger. This will give you an accurate measurement.
How to clean quilting gloves
It’s really easy to clean quilting gloves. All you need is some warm water, dish soap and a little scrubbing action.
You can scrub your gloves using an old toothbrush, a nail brush or your hands. Pop your gloves on, soak them in your warm water/dish soap mixture and rub your hands together, concentrating on the tips of your fingers.
The fabulous team from Machinger also shared their top tips for cleaning Machinger quilting gloves. Watch their video below for more expert advice.
Alternatives to quilting gloves
Not a fan of quilting gloves? There are a few alternative ways to keep your fabric secure and improve your grip while quilting.
Shelf Paper
The first is using shelf paper. Shelf paper is used to line shelves and draws to stop items from rolling around or moving within the space.
These sheets are often made of rubber and are textured just like the tips of quilting gloves. Place a small piece on top of your quilt and use this to help you grip and manoeuvre the fabric around.
Alternatively, you could lay a large piece on your sewing table to keep the rest of your quilt in place as you stitch.
Quilting hoops/frames
Quilting hoops/frames are brilliant for keeping an area of your quilt taut. They’re especially brilliant for free motion quilting, as they can be moved around your quilt depending on what section you're stitching.
We have a collection of the best quilting frames here on Gathered so you can find the right one for you.
Quilting pads
Working in a similar way to shelf lining, quilting pads are designed to help you hold onto your quilt while you stitch. You place the pad on your quilt top and grip the paddle with your hand (in this case the black side).
The quilting paddles by Martelli are great alternatives to quilting gloves. The bottom of the pad is made from a non-slip material and alleviates the pressure from your arms, neck and shoulders.
There’s a palm-sized paddle and a larger paddle to choose from. For smaller projects like table runners, we’d recommend the palm-sized paddle. King-sized quilts will most likely need a larger paddle.
However, it’s worth noting this will depend on the size of your hands. You may find the larger paddle makes your hands ache!
Improve your grip with quilting gloves
Quilting gloves may seem excessive but we promise they’re a very handy and important tool.
As well as helping you to grip and move your fabrics around, they also take the pressure off your arms and neck. This is really important for your posture and overall well-being.
Not to mention they’ll also help you achieve neater stitches and you’ll make fewer mistakes!
Pick up a pair of quilting gloves and wear them while you stitch your next quilting pattern. You’ll notice the difference straight away!
Test your quilting gloves out with these patterns!
Now you’ve purchased your new quilting gloves you need a project to work on!
Head over to our collection of the best free modern quilt patterns for project inspiration.
