Finally realized that thimbles are very uncomfortable for me because I have short fingers and some arthritis so the rim of the thimble was pressing against my knuckle joint and making it raw. First I tried putting a piece of cotton ball in the tip of the thimble and then bought myself one of the new thimbles made of neon colored rubber with a metal tip. Yippee! Great for tying my quilt! Not cheap, but so worth it!