ESSEX JUNCTION – If you’ve spent precious getting-out-the-door time looking for the other mitten or glove to go with the one in your hand, don’t worry; there’s an app for that. The brainchild of a Vermont stay-at-home dad, Looking For Glove is a new service that will match your mitten with another local mitten of the opposite hand.

“It just occurred to me one day as I was about throw out a pile of unmatched mittens,” says founder and designer Reed Unitas. “I bet there are matches out there somewhere for these things. But how would I find them? So I made my own way.”

Users can upload a photo of the mitten or glove, and provide as much other information as they have, such as the brand or size, and then see if they have any matches. Once two mittens are matched, Unitas says it’s up to the users themselves to decide what to do.

“Maybe one person wants the pair more than the other? Maybe they split the time, every other week? Honestly, I’m not sure there is a ‘right’ answer. Each pair of mittens or gloves is going to find its own path. I’m leaving that up to the owners.”

Unitas says he eventually hopes to add footwear to the app, but says that socks have been a huge challenge.

“Yeah, I have a pile of random black socks. We all do. But how to really indicate the softness, exact length, stretchiness, shape, stitching, I mean, it’s a nightmare. You can put two seemingly identical socks on your feet, but it won’t take long for you to realize that something is off. They’re not a match. Each sock has one true sockmate in the world, and I’m not going to add them to the app until I know the algorithm is correct.”