How to Thread a Needle Correctly

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By cajunc
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Threading a needle should not need a page of instructions, but if you think it is obvious, maybe you have been doing it incorrectly. There are lots of instructions online, but they do not seem to know that there is a correct way to thread a needle.

Thread a needle correctly to prevent twisting and knotting of the thread when sewing. Trying to sew with a thread that keeps twisting is frustrating, and it doesn't need to happen. Here's how to prevent twisting and knotting.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

a needle
a spool of thread
scissors

Step 1

Start with a needle and the spool of thread. Have the scissors close at hand.
Step 2

Open the spool of thread if it has not been opened. Check around the edge and see where the thread starts. There will be a small slit in the spool. Lift the paper at that area and pull the thread out of the slit.
Step 3

Cut off the first half inch of thread. Cut the thread on the diagonal for ease in threading a needle.
Step 4

Do not cut the thread from the spool. Push the thread into the eye of the needle. If you have difficulty, use a needle threader. The needle threader has tiny wire that goes through the needle and creates a larger circle for the thread to be run through.
Step 5

Pull the thread through the needle to the length needed for sewing. Leave the spool side longer than the other side of the thread.
Step 6

Cut the thread from the spool and immediately put a small rolled knot at the end. This is important, because you want to identify that end as the end you are sewing with.
Step 7

Sew with the needle threaded this way, and you will not have knots or twists in the thread. The reason this works is that all thread has a twist, and there is only one way that the thread run through the needle will not twist. Although this seems like common sense, there is only one way to thread a needle correctly.