Boy - I am working on applique about 8 hours per day the last 2 weeks and I need to find a solution.

The big leather ones are too clumsy for me.
The plastic stick on thimble it ones don't seem to work very well.

Can anyone recommend the leather ones that stick on? Where to get them and which one to get? Or am I just not using it correctly. When I put a big thimble on I just stop using that finger. It's too clumsy.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
Roxanne

I don't like leather ones either. I really prefer metal but I'm in between sizes. I put a bandaid on and then put the bigger one on but it just didn't work out. I tried the 'nimble thimble' which is shaped sort of like a regular thimble but is leather with a metal tip, and after just a little bit of stitching, the end ripped out. I emailed the company and got no reply. So now I have a clover thimble that has metal on the end and rubber on the sides but I haven't tried it yet.

I made one from duck tape shaped it to my finger sticky side out then wrapped several layers and made a little custom thimble .:)
Next one I make I may put a piece of leather in side.

For regular sewing (not quilting) I use a tailor's thimble. It is shaped like a regular dome thimble but the top is missing and it is essentially like a very wide ring that fits around the tip of my finger. There's a rolled edge around the bottom of the ring and a smaller rolled edge around the top of the ring.

Mine has been used so long (over 40 years) that it has shaped itself into an oval shape that fits my finger exactly. I've heard of people using a rubber or rawhide mallet to deliberately shape a new thimble into an oval shape. I've never done it but my guess would be to place the thimble on a soft surface (like a folded towel), give it a gentle tap, try it on, take it off and give it another gentle tap, etc, until it fits.

I still have my childhood thimbles and none of them warped into shape. It must take more than 3 years or so of use to warp naturally. I don't remember ever feeling like my grown up thimble didn't fit but now when I try on a new thimble, I realise my old one is definitely more comfortable.

Once you have a thimble that fits, the only solution I know of is to wear it as much of the time as you can, no matter what you're doing. After awhile, it just feels natural on your finger.

Once you are used to using a thimble, you feel odd using a needle without one on. I don't think I could hand sew without a thimble at this point in my life, it would just feel too strange (and I hate getting needle pokes, even from the eye end of the needle).

Very interesting!

I like the clover coin thimble. It is leather with a little metal dimply coin on the finger tip. I push the needle w/ the pad of my finger, not the top. I came across the ring thimble, but need to make it smaller and just haven't taken the time to do that yet.

Hey, I know those little leather dots that you're talking about.They are little finger savers. Have just run out, and need to replenish mine. They are especially helpful when using applibond needles. Before I discovered these, I put three needles through my fingers, with the eye end, not the little blade.

I went to a antique store and found several tin and bronze ones in different sizes. It seems that some days I wear a bigger one, other days it falls off. For some reason I like the ones that have been used, worn and comfy.

I cant believe you all dont like the leather ones, I love mine, would be lost with out it. Theres a new leather one that my friend just bought last week, it looks just like a normal thimble, mine is a larger about up to your middle knuckle, anyway she loves this new thimble. Wish I could remember who made it, all I can remember is its solid black.

I'm still waiting to buy my Roxanne thimble, until then I have a brass colored knock-off I got at JoAnn's that I really like. I have longer nails so it allows my nail to be exposed then it has a band around my finger that is adjustable. I bought one that had rubber inside but the rubber came out about the second time I used it. Before that I had a full thimble that had a ridge around the top so the needle wouldn't slip off. I used that for a long time. I think I have one of each thimble made. I don't really care for the leather ones. The black one, I kept getting the eye stuck in the leather, that wore out the thread. The white one is just too long, felt like I couldn't bend my finger. The brown one had the coin on the pad of my finger and I push with the end of my finger. I liked that one and I thought about ripping out the side seams and resewing it where I wanted the coin to be on my finger. Figured I did enough ripping out though.lol