I played with thimbles as a child but didn't see the necessity (no one taught or pushed me to use them) until I started English Paper Piecing a few years ago. I found that I push the needle with the side of my middle finger, which was getting really sore. I found thimble rings (Clover makes the ones I use). It's a leather ring over plastic that you can adjust to your finger size. I bought a pack of 3 thinking I would run through them. 5 years later, I am happily using the same 1 for all of my hand work.