Here is a little curiosity – the sashiko thimble

It looks odd and doesn’t go on the end of your finger!

One of the things I love about tools is how they evolve for the purpose they are made.

When sashiko stitching, you are using a long strong needle and gathering as much as 3 or 4 inches of fabric onto it at once (once you have been doing it awhile!)

In order to take the stress off of the fingers, sashiko thimbles were invented, probably by some sensible innovative woman with way too much stitching to get done for her family and finger joints that were getting middle aged and achey!

You wear it at the base of your finger like this.

It has a stretch bit of elastic on the back and little grippy spots on the front tab to rest the needle in as you push.  It softens with use so it is comfortable.

You can here see how the eye end of the needle rests on the thimble tab after the stitches are gathered on the fabric, and is used to push the needle through.

Cheers

Susan