September 12, 2026 9 min to read

Boxing Gloves

#Plan

Update

Patterning work and material sourcing.

Inspiration

Winning Japan

Red lace-up Winning boxing gloves — Winning

Rouge H, Rouge Casaque, and White Swift boxing gloves — Rouge H, Rouge Casaque, and White Swift Boxing Gloves

Royal blue Top Boxer Win1 boxing gloves — Top Boxer Win1

Construction Hints

From: 1v1 Fight Gear

Overview of boxing glove constrction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmhT9eMXNxs&list=PLVOVqkUhjK_I
Connecting the two halves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHLR1DtUb9I
Palm-side inner liner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL2AjsB1slg
Directional, but outdated padding overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81612T3JvSQ&t=10s

Palm side

Outer appears to be 2-3 oz leather

Palm leather being pressed onto interfacing material — Palm construction: 2–3 oz leather glued to interfacing material.

Reinforced two layers of interfacing. My guess is that one layer is for stretch and general reinforcement, and the other is for water resistance.

Palm leather and backing layers being cut to size with scissors — Palm cut to size with the interfacing from the previous step and another layer of material. Unsure what that extra layer is for.

Liner is sewn to the outer, leaving the grip bar area and the bottom, towards the wrist unsewn.

Stitching around the lace-up opening before cutting it out of the palm — The lace-up area is cut out after sewing. The grip bar insertion area is left unsewn.

Leather palm and liner at the sewing machine during stitching — The liner opening is left unsewn so padding can be added later.

Lace holes are reinforced with outer shell leather and the lace area is cut out after sewing.

Stitched reinforcement in the lacing area with excess material being trimmed — Reinforcement in the lacing area.

Cutting the lacing opening inside the stitched outline on the leather palm — Cutting out the lacing area.

Piping being positioned along the lacing opening in the leather palm — Piping in the lacing area.

Thumb is constructed in two pannels: inner and outer.
Inner thumb is conventionally sewn to the palm area with piping added, overlapping the seam for reinforcement.
Outer thumb is then attached. I believe the outer thumb is attached here because this requires a gather stitching which would be challenging to do later on when connecting the halves if the outer thumb was connected the impact side. Instead, doing it this way, later attaching the completed thumb to the impact side is easier.

Thumb gusset being sewn to the glove assembly — Thumb gusset.

Close-up of piping and reinforcement being stitched along the thumb gusset — Thumb gusset piping/reinforcement detail.

Outer thumb being sewn to the glove assembly — Adding the outer thumb.

Close-up of gathered material being stitched around the outer thumb — Outer thumb gather stitching detail.

Palm side liner appears to be sewn with no added allowance until the finger pocket area. The additional allownace is given by pivoting the material, notching it, then continuing to sew. No additional gathering is done here, the liner is sewn directly overlappingto the gather stitches.

Inner liner being sewn to the thumb area of the glove — Thumb liner sewn directly on top of the gather stitch. No intentional thickness allowance added.

Impact side

Assembly

Glove halves being sewn together at the thumb — Connecting the halves. Reinforcement stitches at the start of the thumb, then gather stitches.

Close-up of gathered material being stitched around the fingertips — Gather stitch for the fingertips.

Neoprene being positioned at the fingertips on the palm side of the glove — Neoprene finger area on the palm side. Looks like this is sewn from the strik side?

Cutaway glove showing the neoprene layer beside the fingertip padding and palm liner — Neoprene details.

Foam

Wrist foam on the strike side of the glove at the sewing machine — Wrist area foam on the strike side.

Alternative Construction

Separate wrist foam being fitted into a glove assembly at a sewing machine — Less structured wrist foam, separate from the striking surface padding.

The wrist foam is a separate piece from the striking surface padding. That discontinuity decreases stiffness. This construction implies a different padding/liner solution. I think it’s probably done to simplify manufacturing, and isn’t necessarily a good way to do it.

In this construction, the striking surface liner is glued to the foam, then the whole assembly is stuffed into the glove. So the liner isn’t inherently sewn to the edges of the glove.

Liner attached to the striking surface foam beside the glove shell — Striking surface liner glued to the foam.

Foam and liner assembly held at the opening of the glove shell — Foam and liner before insertion.

Foam and liner assembly being folded and pushed into the glove — Stuffing the foam and liner into the glove.

Another view of the foam and liner being worked into the glove shell — Foam and liner insertion detail.

Liner to palm. Looks like extra allowance is intentionally added here. Sewn normally along the wrist first, then the material is “pivoted” into the hand area to add slack. Then a stress relief cut.

Palm liner being sewn along the wrist edge — Sewing the liner along the wrist first.

Liner material being pivoted into the hand area at the sewing machine — Material pivoted into the hand area, adding slack.

Scissors making a stress relief cut at the liner edge — Stress relief cut.

Pattern

Materials

Outer

1.0–1.2 mm leather.

Cowhide: common, durable, abrasion resistant.
Kangaroo: strong for its thickness and weight. Could use thinner leather.
Horse: very strong, very good abrasion resistance, less flexible

Liner

Heavy polyester tricot
Goatskin/calf lining leather

Padding

Impact surface

Layers, outside → hand

Layer	Thickness	Foam	Notes
Contact	8–10 mm	Soft PU or latex	Soft initially, quick rebound, not mushy
Main	18–22 mm	Medium PU or latex	Takes most of the impact; progressively firmer
Support	6–10 mm	Firm EVA or PU	Spreads load, prevents bottoming out
Comfort	3–4 mm	Soft PU	Separates knuckles from firmer foam

Target total over knuckles: about 35–45 mm.

Material choice

PU: easiest starting point, lots of firmness options.
Latex: durable, good rebound. Possible main layer.
EVA: mainly for support.
Avoid memory foam / slow-recovery foam.

Foam priorities

Firmness (IFD/ILD): force needed to compress it.
Compression curve: soft initially, then firmer.
Rebound: immediate recovery.
Compression set: shouldn’t stay crushed after repeated use.
Density: useful for comparison, but isn’t firmness.

Wrist (back)

Soft. Not sure how thick yet.

Wrist (front)

For wrist support. I’ve seen dense padding and pillow stuffing used here.

Thumb

Grip bar

Something for the fingers to close around and keep a consistent fist shape.

15–18 mm diameter. Oval, D-shaped or anatomical rather than round.
Soft foam alone may collapse; a rigid bar may cause pressure points.
Leaning toward a semi-rigid core with a soft surface. Supportive, with some give when squeezed.
Options: dense EVA/TPE, solid TPU, TPU lattice, or a light rigid core wrapped in foam.
TPU lattice looks promising: holds its shape but still compresses.

Fingers

2–4 mm neoprene at the fingertips.

Something soft to grip; fills gaps and cushions fingertips/nails against seams.
Adds friction to help keep fingers curled, without stiffening the pocket.
ONX mentions dead space as a fit issue. 1v1 users describe neoprene helping them grip and close their fist.

Misc

Grossness control

ElimiShield HUNT Scent Elimination Spray: quaternary ammonium; marketed to bond to fabric for odor control.
ElimiShield HUNT X10D: soak-in quaternary ammonium textile treatment.

Closure

Lace-up converter method I like best
Salomon Quicklace