This type of thimble is sometimes said to have originated in China and moved westwards, possibly in the mid-first millennium AD. It is currently being used, for example, in Cairo (Egypt) for the production of appliqués (see Street of the Tentmakers). The thimble ring is very similar to the so-called tailor’s thimble. The main difference is the size of the ring; a tailor’s thimble is much broader than a thimble ring.
Source: BEAUDRY, Mary Carolyn (2006). Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing, New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 91.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 8th July 2016).
GVE