How to Thread a Needle: 6 Easy Methods

Anything stitched with thread and a needle must have some way of getting the thread through the eye of the needle. Sometimes it's a piece of cake and other times it defies the gods. A lot depends on the kind of stitching being done: whether it be putting Billie's buttons back or some nice needlepoint. Even petit point and beading require you to thread a needle. But, by the time we are through, you will have some tricks to help you get that needle threaded.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• good lighting
• thread
• needle
• patience

1. It is disgusting, but it works. Slobber all over the end of your thread. I said it was gross!! Actually, just a quick wetting in your mouth will do to hold the cut end of the thread together long enough to get it through the eye of the needle. Pinch the wet end between thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand and slide it through the eye. Still a bit difficult? Stick the eye of the needle into your mouth and get it wet, too. The saliva in the eye will help to draw the thread through it. Now that the needle has been threaded, cut off the wet thread before you continue.

2. Hold your thread in your dominant hand between thumb and forefinger. The needle is held in your other hand. Place the needle about 1/4 inch from the end of the thread and fold the thread over the needle. Slide the needle out and keep the thread folded and pinched between the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand. Slowly work the eye of the needle over the folded and pinched thread. No slobbering required: I like that.

3. A narrow, thin, long piece of paper joins the needle and thread in this method. The paper must be narrow enough to pass through the eye of the needle. It must be thin enough that it adds almost no bulk to the thread. And it must be long enough to be folded over the thread.
   
   And that is just the way it's done: a thread sandwich is made with the thread in the middle and the 2 wings of the folded paper acting like the bread.
   
   The paper is controlling the fuzziness of the thread and your thumb and forefinger are controlling the paper sandwich. It is the folded edge of the paper that goes through the needle's eye.

4. A needle threader is a tool to help you in your task of threading a needle. There are many out there and some are better made than others, some are used for bulky threads and others for fine threads. Some use a piece of metal and others employ a fine wire. I have my favourite and you will discover your fav, too.
   
   a) Put the wire of the threader through the eye of the needle. b) Put the thread through the wire. Don't mix up these 2 steps. c) Pull the wire out of the needle's eye. At the same time, the thread will be pulled through the eye by the wire. And you are left with a threaded needle.

5. This method takes time: drying time. a) Dip the thread end in glue. b) Taper the gluey end into a point. c) Leave the thread with its gluey end on a piece of wax paper or the shiny side of butcher paper until the glue has dried. The waiting time depends on the kind of glue used. There are many kinds of crafter's glue and sewing glues. Visit your local needlework or bead shop (stay away from the big crafter stores) and ask the opinions of the people working there. Your questions will get you the advice of people who use these products all the time. It will likely save you the time and money you would have to pay to do your own product research.

6. This is the easiest, all time best way to thread a needle. Find a method you like and use it. You probably will find that several methods work best depending on what the thread is and what kind of needle is being threaded. I like Method 1 as my last resort when 'dry' threading refuses to work. I use Method 2 to thread my needlepoint yarns through needlepoint needles, and to thread my beading and petit point needles I prefer Method 4.

Tips & Warnings

• No sense of humour? If you cannot be light-hearted about your own mistakes, you will never become an expert. Laugh at your mistakes and you will relax. Learn from your mistakes and they cease to be mistakes. Some big mistakes are serendipitous.
• A needle's eye is punched through, from one side to the other. This creates a smooth side and a relatively rough side. It takes a practiced eye or a microscope to determine which is back and which is front. But if you continue to have problems needling your thread, perhaps it's because you are actually trying to thread it from back to front, from rough side to smooth. So, turn your needle around and try threading the needle now. It should be somewhat easier.
• Good Lighting. Eye strain can seriously hamper your ability to thread a needle. Keep your eyes as healthy as possible for as long as possible by working in good task lighting. If you are right handed, the light should come over your left shoulder; and if you are left handed the light will pass over your right shoulder. Do this and whatever you are doing, from reading to stitching, will be well lit.
• The loss of your eyesight is for keeps. At the time of this writing, there is no 'cure' for blindness. Sometimes, if I am lucky, I can thread a needle by feel. That doesn't happen very often. Forget your pride and find a magnifier that works for you, and then use it. It can't help you if it's still in the package. I sometimes remove my glasses and sometimes I use a magnifier. Rarely can I thread a needle leaving my glasses at the end of my nose where they usually sit.

Resources

• eye of the needle

[amandasgramma]

on 1/16/2009 Another hint I just learned. SPIT on the NEEDLE...not the thread. Cotton thread will swell if wet. By wetting the needle eye, the thread just flows thru! REALLY works!

[2besure]

on 9/15/2008 When I was a girl I was my mamma's needle threader as her eyes got weak. Now my husband is my needle threader when I can't find my glasses.