Hi, I share your hate of thimbles but have found a perfect solution. Go to www.colonialneedle.com and click on Thimbles and then on Fingertip. They have a wonderful product called Thimble its. It is an oval shaped sticky back piece of hardish plastic. They come in packs of about 100 if I remember correctly - they last so long, I haven't had to reorder for ages. They a absolutely fantastic. Cheap too.