If your child has Poland anomaly affecting their hand, you have probably stood in a store staring at a wall of gloves that simply don't work. One hand is a different size. The fingers are shorter, or fused, or shaped in a way that no mass-produced glove accounts for. The glove that fits the affected hand gaps everywhere. The glove that gaps nowhere won't go on at all.
This is not a small inconvenience. Kids want to do what their friends are doing — skiing, sledding, playing in the cold, catching a baseball. Being the kid who can't wear gloves becomes one more thing that sets them apart. Getting gloves that fit is a practical problem with a real emotional weight attached to it.
The good news is that solutions exist. They range from a simple DIY approach that costs nothing extra to custom-made gloves, adaptive sports equipment, and a community matching program that turns this challenge into a connection. This page covers all of it.
Start here: The two-pair method
Before spending money on custom gloves, most families try this first — and many find it works well enough for everyday use.
The idea is simple. Buy two pairs of gloves in different sizes: one sized for the unaffected hand, one sized for the smaller or affected hand. Use the correctly-sized glove from each pair. You end up with one well-fitting pair assembled from two pairs of the same style.
A few things that make this work better:
- Buy both pairs from the same brand and style so the look matches.
- Stretchy knit gloves adapt better than structured leather or nylon.
- Winter mittens are often more forgiving than individual-finger gloves — worth trying first for very young children.
- Measure both hands before shopping so you know which sizes you need.
You will have leftover gloves — one from each pair that you didn't use. Don't throw them out. See the Glove Buddy section below.
Hand measurement guide
Measure around the widest part of the palm (excluding the thumb), and measure the length from the base of the palm to the tip of the middle finger. Do this for both hands. Most glove sizing charts use palm circumference. Knowing both measurements helps when buying the second pair.
When the two-pair method isn't enough
For some children — particularly those with significant finger differences, missing fingers, or fused digits — an off-the-shelf glove in any size won't work well. At that point, custom is the path forward.
Talk to your occupational therapist first
If your child works with an occupational therapist who specializes in pediatric upper limb differences, start there. OTs who work in this space often know local makers, have made adaptive gloves themselves, or can refer you to prosthetists and crafters in your area. This knowledge doesn't always show up online — it lives in the hands-on community.
Independent makers and crafters
The limb difference community has a long tradition of families helping each other solve exactly these problems. Custom gloves for children with hand differences are made by individual crafters — sewers, knitters, and makers who have worked with families like yours before. Many can be found through:
- The Lucky Fin Project community (luckyfin.org) — parents in this network often have maker referrals
- The e-NABLE community (enablingthefuture.org) — a global volunteer network that creates adaptive devices for limb differences, including gloves
- Etsy — search "adaptive gloves limb difference" or "custom gloves hand difference" — individual makers list there
- The Poland Foundation community forum — ask for referrals from parents who have already solved this
When reaching out to a maker, come with hand measurements for both hands, photos of the affected hand in a relaxed position, and a clear description of what you need the gloves to do (warmth, grip, sports use, etc.). The more specific you are, the better the result.
DIY modifications
For families with basic sewing skills — or a willing tailor or seamstress — modifying an existing glove is often the fastest and cheapest custom solution. Common modifications include taking in the width of individual fingers, shortening finger length, removing excess fabric in the palm, or removing a finger entirely and sewing it closed for a child who is missing that digit. A standard glove in a close size is the starting material; the modification removes what doesn't fit.
If you've developed a modification approach that works well for your child's specific presentation, consider sharing it in the Poland Foundation community forum so other families can benefit.
Baseball gloves
This is its own problem, and it deserves its own section. Standard baseball gloves almost never work for a child with Poland anomaly affecting their catching hand — and the stakes feel high for kids and dads who love the game.
Baseball gloves are side-specific in a way that winter gloves are not. A child with left-side Poland anomaly who is right-handed needs to catch with the left hand and throw with the right — exactly how the game is designed. The problem is that the affected hand is the catching hand, and a standard glove in any size may not accommodate the differences in finger length, hand size, or digit structure.
There is no perfect solution that works for every presentation. What exists:
Custom prosthetic gloves
Some prosthetists who specialize in pediatric upper limb differences have fabricated custom catching gloves. These are functional devices designed around the specific hand structure. Results vary depending on the prosthetist’s experience with this specific application. Start by asking your hand specialist or OT for a referral to a prosthetist with this experience.
Modified standard gloves
A skilled sewer, leatherworker, or OT can sometimes modify a standard youth baseball glove — removing or shortening fingers, adjusting the pocket, adding strapping — to fit a smaller or differently shaped hand. This is not always possible depending on the child’s presentation, but it’s worth exploring before ordering something fully custom.
Challenged Athletes Foundation
The Challenged Athletes Foundation (challengedathletes.org) provides grants for adaptive sports equipment, including gloves and baseball equipment for athletes with limb differences. The application process is straightforward. This is one of the most useful funding sources for families who have found a solution but need help covering the cost.
challengedathletes.org →Adaptive baseball programs
Miracle League and similar adaptive baseball programs have worked with limb-different athletes for years and often have practical knowledge about equipment solutions that work. Even if your child plays in a standard league, connecting with coaches or families in adaptive programs can surface solutions you won’t find anywhere else.
miracleleague.com →Have you found a baseball glove solution that works?
This is one of the areas where community knowledge matters most. If your family has found a maker, a modification approach, or an adaptive program that solved this problem, please share it with us. We’ll add it here for every family that comes looking. Contact the foundation →
Glove Buddy Matching
Poland anomaly almost always affects one side. That means a child affected on the left and a child affected on the right each need opposite gloves from the same pair. The Glove Buddy program connects these families so each gets what they need — and one purchase covers two kids.
Find a Glove Buddy →How it works
When you use the two-pair method, you end up with two leftover gloves — one from the larger pair and one from the smaller. A family whose child has the opposite-side presentation has the exact same leftovers, just mirrored. Together, you each get a well-fitting pair from what would otherwise be waste.
- Register with the foundation. Tell us which side your child is affected on, their hand sizes, and what type of gloves you’re looking for (winter gloves, sport gloves, etc.).
- We match you with an opposite-side family. We try to match families with compatible sizes and needs. We connect you directly.
- Coordinate the purchase. Some matched families buy together and split a single purchase. Others independently buy the same gloves and share the extras. Either works.
- Stay connected if you want to. Many matched families end up in touch long-term — comparing notes, sharing resources, and giving their kids someone who gets it.
This program is new. We are building the matching database now. If you register, you may not be matched immediately — but as the community grows, turnaround time will shrink. The foundation will notify you when a match is found.
Know something we don’t?
This page is built on community knowledge. If you’ve found a maker, a modification, or a baseball glove solution that works — we want to hear about it so the next family searching at 11pm doesn’t have to start from scratch.