Thimble

Copper alloy thimble. Professional embroidery workshops, employing both men and women, produced high quality work for the luxury market. Competition from European workshops was fierce, and London embroiderers had to adapt their techniques and designs to maintain their share of the domestic market.

When sewing cloth, people use a thimble to protect their finger from the needle. When they push the needle through the cloth, its head rests in one of the indentations on the outside of the thimble, which stops it slipping sideways. In England thimbles were first used in the 14th century. Most of them were imported from Germany, particularly from Nuremberg.