How to Thread A Needle

Buying needles and Threaders and Thread

 1 Buy self threading needles.



2 Buy Threaders.



3 Buy a sewing kit containing one or both of the self threading needles or threaders as well as assorted cottons and snaps - which the British call press studs.

4 Buy large needles with large holes. If the smallest needle cannot take the size of thread you are using, pick a larger needle with a larger eye.

Finding Light

5 Sit in a good light, by day near a window or overhead skylight.

6 At night or in a dark room sit next to a lamp and hold the needle near the light source / shade.

Switch on extra overhead lights. Use a torch. Use your phone torch. Or computer screeen.

Needle Position

7 If you don't succeed threading the cotton though horizontally, try holding the needle horizontal and thread the cotton vertically down into the hole or eye of the needle.

Thread End

8 If the end of the thread is frayed, use the other end of the thread.

9 Wet the thread with your saliva  or water.

10 Cut the end of the cotton with a pair of sharp scissors. No sewing scissors? Use a penknife, kitchen scissors, nail scissors.

11 Cut the end of the thread. 

Threaded Needles

12 Buy a pack of threaded needles. I have found them online, in supermarkets, and in 5 star hotels.

13 On a non busy day, thread all your needles with different coloured cottons.

Seek Assistance

14 Ask somebody younger with good eyesight to thread the needle. 

15 In a hotel, go down to reception. Of sit down and ask somebody sitting nearby who is not in a hurry.

Choosing Thread

12 Change to a different thread. Thinner. Better quality thread is waxed and does not fray so easily.

Knotting The End Of the Thread

I knot the end of the thread by twisting it twice around the end of a finger on my left hand. I put the needle though the thread by putting the point of the needle horizontally above the groove on the left of my fingernail.
Hold the end of the thread so the knot does not go too far and slip off the end of the thread.
 You can use the needle to guide the loop down to the end of the thread before you tighten it.

If the tail of the thread is too long beyond the knot and likely to hang down untidily on the garment, simply use small scissors to make the tail shorter.
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