How to use a thimble

To begin hand sewing while using a thimble, you want to hold your needle between your
thumb and index finger. You’ll push the eye end of the needle with the thimble on your
middle finger.

The position of your fingers when you start hand sewing using a thimble is not unlike the
position you’d put them in while holding a pencil (though the position of the needle and
your wrist are different than when writing).

So here I am with my thimble and my pencil. I’m pinching the pencil between my thumb
and index finger and curling my other fingers back.

But to hand sew, I’ll keep the shapes of my fingers in basically the same position, but my
wrist turns and my needle is held at a different angle.

Whereas I hold my pencil nearly parallel to my index finger (almost as an extension of my

finger), I hold my hand sewing needle nearly perpendicular to my index finger. This puts
the eye end of the needle against the thimble on my middle finger. In this position, I can
employ my protected middle finger to help push and control my needle while stitching.

I will stitch in the direction my needle is pointing while keeping my fabric supported by
a table and my other hand.

Hand stitching while your work stays as flat as possible on a table not only keeps it from
getting over-handled, it encourages the stitcher to keep their hand and needle on the same
side of the fabric. A beginner’s mistake is to want to poke in from the top and pull out
through the bottom. This is not only unnecessarily time consuming, it rarely gives great
results. Learning to complete a stitch while staying on the same side of the fabric will help
you gain the speed, invisibility, precision, and control that lead to impeccable and efficient
hand stitching.

How to use a thimble

To begin hand sewing while using a thimble, you want to hold your needle between your
thumb and index finger. You’ll push the eye end of the needle with the thimble on your
middle finger.
The position of your fingers when you start hand sewing using a thimble is not unlike the
position you’d put them in while holding a pencil (though the position of the needle and
your wrist are different than when writing).

So here I am with my thimble and my pencil. I’m pinching the pencil between my thumb
and index finger and curling my other fingers back.

But to hand sew, I’ll keep the shapes of my fingers in basically the same position, but my
wrist turns and my needle is held at a different angle.

Whereas I hold my pencil nearly parallel to my index finger (almost as an extension of my

finger), I hold my hand sewing needle nearly perpendicular to my index finger. This puts
the eye end of the needle against the thimble on my middle finger. In this position, I can
employ my protected middle finger to help push and control my needle while stitching.
I will stitch in the direction my needle is pointing while keeping my fabric supported by
a table and my other hand.

Hand stitching while your work stays as flat as possible on a table not only keeps it from
getting over-handled, it encourages the stitcher to keep their hand and needle on the same
side of the fabric. A beginner’s mistake is to want to poke in from the top and pull out
through the bottom. This is not only unnecessarily time consuming, it rarely gives great
results. Learning to complete a stitch while staying on the same side of the fabric will help
you gain the speed, invisibility, precision, and control that lead to impeccable and efficient
hand stitching.