What tiny collectible can lead to big opportunities? According to Mabel Rogers, it’s thimbles. “They’ve have opened up a whole new world for me!”
It’s hard to imagine a tiny cylinder having such an expansive impact, but Mabel is a member of Thimble Collector’s International (TCI) and has traveled the U.S. and the world with her thimble-collecting cohorts. The group, founded in 1978, holds conventions every other year and Mabel has journeyed to meetings in San Francisco, Boston, Kansas City, Seattle, Orlando, and Niagara Falls.
She also traveled to South Africa to meet with like-minded collectors. “It’s just amazing the places I’ve been that I might not have gone on my own,” she says.
It’s not surprising that many thimble collectors also sew. Though Mabel loves sewing she doesn’t particularly enjoy wearing a thimble while she stitches. But inspired by the thimble her grandmother left her, she started searching for more when her family would go antiquing in the 1970s. Her collection today includes more than 4,000 thimbles.
Thimble collectors often have what Mabel calls “sub-collections”—specific focus areas in their collections. These include thimbles with floral or animal motifs; souvenir thimbles; thimbles made of a particular material like pewter; or thimbles manufactured by a specific company, such as Simmons Brothers Co., a Philadelphia jeweler in existence since 1839 that still makes of sterling silver and 10K and 14K gold.
Meissen thimbles, made of porcelain and dating from the 1700s, are some of the most collectible and highest-priced thimbles, according to Mabel. Her sub-collections include more than 100 “jiggers”—thimbles that sport sayings like “Only a Thimbleful!’ on them—and thimbles inscribed with her name. “Back in the 1900s when thimbles were popular my name was popular,” says Mabel, and she owns about two dozen Mabel-engraved finger protectors.
Mabel encouraged her granddaughter, now 23, to collect thimbles beginning when she was ten years old and she now has a collection centered on owls.
Thimbles are not the only items cherished by TCI members—many gather needlework tools of all types, including needle cases, darning eggs, pincushions, knitting needles, and much more.
Information about all types of needlework collectibles can be found on the TCI website, an impressive resource for members and non-members like.
TCI members receive the 24-page quarterly TCI bulletin, access to educational resources including historical research, galleries of collections, and advice on discerning reproduction and fake thimbles. Members are also eligible to attend the biennial conventions (next year’s will be held in Washington DC in August).
With its current membership hovering around 500 U.S. and international members, TCI also serves as an umbrella organization for smaller, regional groups that gather regularly to share knowledge and new finds.
It’s those gatherings offer what Mabel sees as the organization’s most valuable perk—the opportunity to spend time with like-minded individuals and to create longtime connections. “Those friendships are as important as the item you’re collecting,” she says. “You can call on your thimble friends when you need them, and there are many days when they will sustain you.”
Visit the TCI membership page for more information. Also, if you’re traveling to Germany, you might want to check out the Fingerhut Thimble Museum.
Do you collect any sewing-related paraphernalia? (I admit it—I collect darning eggs!)
As a long time member of TCI, I enjoyed this article….well done!
Great introduction to thimble collecting. TCI has brought travel and friends into my life. Thanks Mabel.
Very interesting. I only collect fabric.
Love the article! Wonderful!
Thank you, Linzee, the article is beautifully done and makes me proud to be called a thimble collector.
I’ve been collecting for years – mostly like to pick one up when traveling. May have to go on the search for vintage ones again…. My collection is only 58. My most interesting is from Alaska – it’s seal hyde
I love thimbles, and have a few that belonged to my grandmother who was a seamstress. I like to make and collect pincushions. Every time I make a new pincushion, I make at least 5 more to give to my quilting friends on our next retreat. I am always looking for ideas for my next creation. So, in a way, my friends are collecting too, whether they know it or not! I also LOVE collecting feedsacks, and books about feedsacks. I’ve really enjoyed your feedsack book, Linzee! And yes, I do cut (some of) them to put in my quilts.
I collect thimbles when I travel also. I’ll have to go actually count them, don’t know how many I have now. Not a member to TCI but sounds like I should be. Thanks for the article.
What a great, informative post. Thanks for sharing.