When I took an etextiles workshop last week, I was reminded that not everyone in the world can easily thread a needle. There are many people in this world (myself included when I have a tendonitis flare-up) who can’t grasp something fine like a piece of thread or hold it steadily enough to get it through a needle. And if you have vision issues, needle threading could be a killer. Physical limitations aside, sometimes you’re just working with crazy thread – I’ve struggled with getting a metallic thread to cooperate several times, and I definitely struggled with getting the conductive thread I used in my extextiles workshop through the darn eye of the needle I was trying to use.
If threading needles frustrates you, allow me to introduce you to something I didn’t know existed until I’d been hand sewing for years: a needle threader. Sometimes they come with a set of needles, like this. I really like the little tin ones – they’re straightforward, affordable, and get the job done.
How to use a needle threader
“Thread” the thin wire diamond (or whatever shape the wire on your needle threader is) through the eye of your needle. Put a few inches of thread through your wire diamond, and pull on the big, non-wire end of your threader to draw your thread through the eye of the needle. Ta da! Needle. Threaded.
Needle threaders work for people who can’t get a good grip since they give you more to hang on to. They help those who might have a hard time seeing the opening by offering a bigger target to aim that thread through. And even for people who are totally hunky dory, they save you a bit of anxiety and let you get down to crafting faster. Cool, huh?
What about the little spring
The diamond-shaped wire of the needle threader is inserted into the eye of a sewing needle. Then you insert your thread into the diamond, pull the threader back through the needle’s eye, set the threader aside, and your needle is threaded!