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Stitching & Crafting Room:  using thimbles?  |
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 7:25:45 PM
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Do you any of you ladies out there in MJFarm land use thimbles? I can't seem to get the hang of them. I wish I could though. My fingers are started to feel like a pin cushion.
I can't figure out how to keep the thimble on my finger..lol
help!!
in the midst of poking pandemonium,
Jess
"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go." ~Abraham Lincoln
www.messiejessie2.blogspot.com |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 7:44:13 PM
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I always hold the finger that has the thimble away from the where it needs to go so no I have no idea My Mom would not sew with out one I have used with some success a leather one but the metal ones no good.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 7:45:36 PM
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I have a leather one, but I always seem to change fingers and poke a bare one when I wear it. I was hoping there was a special secret to using the metal ones...HEHE ;)
hugs
Jess
"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go." ~Abraham Lincoln
www.messiejessie2.blogspot.com |
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Choctaw Farm Gal
Farmgirl in Training
46 Posts
Nancy
Oklahoma
46 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 7:54:29 PM
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Hi Jess,
I could never get the metal thimbles to stay either as I hand stitched & hand quilted - so I wouldn't use one and instead would wrap my thimble finger with various kinds of tape to avoid the constant pricking. But often the tape was confining & restricted my finger movements. Then, many years ago I was given a leather thimble when they first came out for the sewing industry.
The original leather thimbles were a few inched long, made of goatskin leather with a soft stretchy fabric on the backside that allowed it to bend with your hand/finger movements. Slipped over my thimble finger, it worked wonderful, and once I got it broken in a bit, it felt so easy to work my needle in and out of the fabric & prick the leather instead of my finger!
I've gone through scores of leather thimbles since that first one & what I like is they do not fall off! If you hand sew a lot, the pricking of the needle will wear a hole in the leather eventually & you have to get a new one. But they are quite inexpensive and you can find various leather thimbles now readily available on line or at quilting shops.
If you do leather crafting at all, you could make your own. Some now even come with a metal piece installed in the main area where the needle hits the most, which keeps the leather from wearing out.
Because I have an allergy to metals that makes my skin itch and break out, the leather thimble also resolved that issue for me too.
My Mother always used a metal thimble & if she needed to make it fit better, she'd wrap a piece of paper or tape around her finger to make it stay on -
Poking & pricking are no fun & it usually ends up being in the same spot over and over, depending on your finger motion & can really hurt after awhile!!
wishing you the best!
and I hope this helps.....
Nancy |
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Sheep Mom 2
True Blue Farmgirl
1534 Posts
Sheri
Elk
WA
USA
1534 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 11:23:05 PM
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I prefer the leather one as well. I have a good sized "writers bump" on my middle finger so the metal thimble never fit well. Both my mom and grandma used metal thimbles all the time. When I am quilting, there are little sticky metal discs to put on the under finger so that helped to solve the "hamburger" syndrome that my under finger always suffered from after very long hand quilting sessions.
Blessings, Sheri
"Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran |
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2010 : 06:05:08 AM
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I also use a leather thimble for all the reasons already listed!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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5 acre Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1007 Posts
~~~*Terri*~~~
WA.
USA
1007 Posts |
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dutchy
True Blue Farmgirl
4427 Posts
4427 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2010 : 08:25:50 AM
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Never use one, got the scars to prove it, lol. But the leather ones sounds a lot better. Have to see whether my fabric store carries them :)
Hugs from Marian/Dutchy, a farmgirl from the Netherlands :)
My personal blog:
http://just-me-a-dutch-girl.blogspot.com/
Almost daily updates on me and mine :)
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dutchy
True Blue Farmgirl
4427 Posts
4427 Posts |
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Faransgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
895 Posts
Beth
Houston
Texas
USA
895 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2010 : 08:44:18 AM
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I have not used a thimble most of my life. I have a spot on my finger with no finger print it is so bad. However a couple of years ago I bought a new metal one at the quilt show. I has a hole in the top for you fingernail to come through and they come if various sizes. The sales person fitted my finger. It took a while to learn to use it but now I use it most of the time. Just be patient I thing it takes time to learn to use one.
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
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barnagainkristin
True Blue Farmgirl
465 Posts
Kristin
Utah
USA
465 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2010 : 12:44:48 PM
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I use a leather one also but be sure to replace it as it starts to wear. Many times I have pressed hard on the needle in a worn spot and jammed the needle deep into my finger. OUCH!
Happy Stitching!
barnagainkristin
"Others Before Self" |
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Marcy
True Blue Farmgirl
2701 Posts
Marcy
Tiverton
Rhode Island
USA
2701 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2010 : 05:36:51 AM
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I just started learning handquilting and I could not survive without one. It did take some getting used to, though. Gonna have to check out the leather one's. Althouh I must say, the metal one is working great for me.
Farmgirl #170
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give...Eleanor Roosevelt
http://marcysworldofcreativity.blogspot.com/ |
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barnagainkristin
True Blue Farmgirl
465 Posts
Kristin
Utah
USA
465 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2010 : 10:24:13 AM
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If you can't make the metal thimble work I just saw a thimble used as a tiny vase for a small rose. Just stuff it with the green floral foam and press a tiny rose into it. Hoping you don't have to use your thimble for a vase but if all else fails there's another purpose for it :)
barnagainkristin
"Others Before Self" |
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Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2010 : 09:59:02 AM
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What a great topic!! I use one depending on the project. . . some things require a thimble or you end up with a needle in your finger.
I still struggle with it, one thing though, need to keep your fingernail clipped short. Helps the thimble stay on better. 
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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pinkroses
True Blue Farmgirl
2350 Posts
Sheila
Virginia
USA
2350 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2010 : 11:32:00 AM
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My deceased Gran taught me to use one especially when quilting.
she and I loved hand quilting
My fingers are so small; much like the size of a child's
( I wish the rest of me were that small )
I have a hard time finding thimbles to fit my fingers.
I have only a few that do and I have brought quite a bit of them.
Once you get use to it you will always want one.
My dad when I was young worked at steel
he had to use heavy leather gloves ,
He gave me a piece of leather from an old pair of gloves he had
( I wish I had more of the gloves)
I made wide leather band and put snaps on them to go below my thimble on my finger; because I still hit my finger a lot while quilting at the floor frame.
It is worn out just about . I don't use it now ; I keep it as a keep sake as my dad died 6 years ago.
I found some leather that was a bit thinner and used to make another.
Good luck learning the use of a thimble; it does save on one's fingers.hugs sheila
www.ohkayteagirl2.blogspot.com
http;//www.sheilascreativewritings.blogspot.com |
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Ms. Treadle
True Blue Farmgirl
51 Posts
Leigh-Ann
Northwest
Mississippi
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2010 : 6:42:16 PM
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I've never been able to get used to a thimble...it makes my finger feel claustrophobic if that makes any sense. I usually end up sticking a band-aid on my finger...Ha ha
The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary. ~Mary Kurtz
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Stitching & Crafting Room: using thimbles? |
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using thimbles?
for ones fingers to "get use to it"..patience my friend...my mother taught me to use one...I am now 52....