Jelly Thimbles

Hello my friends in costuming and dance,

I’ve recently taught a private workshop on making bras, when I got a unique question.  When I was demonstrating a finishing technique that involved hand sewing, a woman in the class asked, “Where did you get that weird thimble?”   I had to pause for a moment while I contemplated my finger, my thimble and where I got it.  I told her in a quilt shop somewhere, I don’t remember which one, and I passed it around for the other ladies to feel.

What made this thimble so unique?  It’s made from the same material that jelly shoes are made from.  It has the ability to really snug the tip of the finger. It doesn’t fly off and is soft.  You still need to get used to using a thimble, but for experienced thimble wearers, you will find a jelly thimble offers more comfort and security as you sew.  They come in two styles, a cupped version, which makes it easy to catch the needle and domed version, that I like when I’m doing beading and pushing with the side of my finger.

I got my jelly thimble at a quilting store.  (Quilting stores always have the best and most unique sewing tools and notions!)  But if you hunt around on line you can find them.  The brand of the ones I have are from the company Dill-Buttons.  If you know your size in millimeters, you can use a quick web-search to find out who’s currently stocking them.  If you don’t know your size, I recommend finding a local quilting specialty store and going in and trying them out!

Jelly Thimbles – What a wonderful invention!

Happy Costuming,
~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina