How to Thread a Sewing Machine in 9 Simple Steps

For many people, the first obstacle to sewing is threading the machine. If you don’t perform this simple task frequently, it’s normal to forget how.

A Basic Sewing Machine

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Get your sewing machine out of the closet so you can make all those beautiful projects that you have been dreaming about! This sewing machine is a Brother CS7000C. The threading process is the same as most basic sewing machines. Check your sewing machine’s manual if needed.

First Raise the Presser Foot and the Needle

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Turn the machine on so the light will help you see what you are doing. Raising the presser foot will open the tension disks and ensure that the thread enters them properly. If you have a needle up/down button, press it once or twice until the needle is at its highest position. Otherwise, turn the handwheel towards you until the needle reaches its highest position.

1. Put a spool of thread on the spool pin

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The spool pin is found on the top of the machine, usually on the right side. On some machines, the spool pin is telescoping and pushes down for storage, so you may have to pull it up.

2. Pull the thread to the left and through the pre-tensioner from the back

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Sewing machines generally have a thread guide (or pre-tensioner) at the back. Pass the thread through the guide from the back of the machine, pulling towards you.

3. Pull the thread down through the channel in front of the thread guide

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Follow the numbered path printed on your machine, if there is one.

4. Pass the thread through the tension disks and up toward the take-up lever

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As you move the thread down and then up through the channel on the left, it will enter the tension disks. On some machines (such as mine in the picture), the tension control knob is directly over the tension disks.

5. Pull the thread up the take-up lever channel, dragging it along the right side of the channel

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The take up lever is the metal arm with a hook (or eye) at the end of it. It moves up and down as you sew. On old-fashioned machines, sewists were required to pass the thread through the eye on the take-up lever.

On modern machines, threading the take-up lever is much easier. Drag the thread along the right side of the take-up lever channel as you pull it up, and then (next step) drag the thread down the left side of the channel as you pull it down.

6. Drag the thread down the left side of the take-up lever channel as you pull it down towards the needle

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This step will ensure that the thread has been caught by the take-up lever.

7. Pass the thread in front of the needle bar

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The needle bar is a horizontal guide in front of the needle near the top.

8. Thread the eye of the needle manually or with an automatic needle threader

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Lower the presser foot. Pass the thread through the eye of the needle from the front to the back. Many people find it easier to do this manually, even if their machine has an automatic needle threader.

Using an Automatic Needle Threader

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Lower the presser foot. Pull the needle threader all the way down using the lever on the left side.

There is a small wire with a hook at the end that should enter the eye of the needle. When you release the lever, this wire will pull the thread through the eye to the back. One common problem with automatic needle threaders is that this small wire becomes bent or damaged and does not enter the eye of the needle. If your automatic needle threader no longer works, the small wire is probably damaged, and the needle threader needs to be replaced. The cost of replacing a needle threader will vary, but it is usually not very high.

Pass the thread under and over the thread guide on the needle threader and across the front of the needle

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This is the trickiest step when using an automatic needle threader. The thread must pass from the needle bar to the left and down under a small arm (thread guide) on the needle threader. Then, pull the thread over that small arm and to the right across the front of the needle.

Push the thread toward the back of the machine gently. You may hear or feel it gently snap into the wire hook on the automatic needle threader.

Release the lever on the needle threader so the hook pulls the thread through the eye of the needle

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As you let the needle threader return to its position out of the way, the small hook that has (hopefully) grabbed the thread will pull the thread through the eye of the needle.

It is necessary to keep some tension on the end of the thread in your right hand so that it doesn’t come out of the wire hook too soon, but not too much tension so the hook can’t pull the thread through the needle.

With some practice, this step may become second nature to you!

9. Pull the top thread through the presser foot

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Before sewing, pull the needle thread through the presser foot. Hold the top thread and bobbin thread together as you begin to sew to prevent a ‘bird’s nest’ of thread on the bottom of your project.

Now Wind the Bobbin!

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