How-to guide
How to thread an embroidery needle (even with shaky hands)
To thread an embroidery needle, cut the floss fresh at a slight angle, pinch the end so only a tiny tip shows, and lower the needle's eye onto it. If the end keeps splitting, fold it over the needle and push the fold through instead, or use a wire threader. If nothing works, use a bigger eye.
The quickest way: pinch and press
Most people try to poke the floss through the needle. It works better the other way around: hold the floss still and bring the needle to it.
- Cut a fresh end. Snip the floss with sharp scissors at a slight angle. A clean cut makes a neat point. A torn, bitten or worn end fans out into a little brush that won't fit through anything.
- Pinch it short. Hold the end between your thumb and first finger so only a millimeter or two peeks out. The less that shows, the less it can bend or split.
- Lower the eye onto it. Press the eye of the needle down over the pinched tip. A small back-and-forth wiggle helps it slip on.
- Pull it through. As soon as the tip shows through the eye, catch it and draw a few inches through.
- Stuck? Flip the needle. Needle eyes are punched from one side, so one side is usually a little more open than the other. If the floss keeps catching, turn the needle around and try again from the other face.
When the end keeps splitting: the fold method
Two or three strands of floss like to spread apart at the cut end. The fold method gets around that, because a fold has no loose ends at all.
- Fold the floss over the needle. Lay the floss across the needle about an inch from the end and pull both sides down so the floss folds tight against the metal.
- Pinch the fold. Squeeze the fold hard between your finger and thumb, then slide the needle out, so the folded thread is hidden in your pinch.
- Press the eye onto the fold. Push the eye down onto the flat edge of the fold until the little loop pops through.
- Pull the loop through. Draw the loop through the eye until the short tail comes free. Done, without a single frayed fiber.
Using a needle threader
A wire needle threader is a thin, flexible loop of wire on a small handle. Push the wire loop through the eye of the needle, drop the floss into the loop, then pull the loop back out. The floss comes along with it.
The wire is fine, so it can bend or snap after a lot of use. Keep a spare in your kit. A threader is handy for anyone, not only for tired eyes, and it saves a lot of fiddling at the end of a long evening.
Match the needle to the strands
The most common reason floss won't go through is a needle that's too small for it. The needle's thickness should match the thread's. Needle sizes also run backward: the higher the number, the finer the needle and the smaller its eye.
Which crewel needle to thread, by strand count
| Strands | Needle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 strand | Crewel 9 | A small eye for a fine whisker or tiny details |
| 2 strands | Crewel 7 to 9 | What our dog portraits use for every line and fill |
| 3 strands | Crewel 7 | A larger eye, so three strands pass without a fight |
| Still a struggle | One size bigger | If it won't go in easily, the eye is too small |
Too small an eye also wears the floss: it drags and fuzzes where it rubs through the needle. Too big a needle leaves holes around your stitches. More on strand counts in how many strands to use.
Threading for a loop start
Our portraits start with a loop start instead of a knot, so the threading is a little different. Pull out one strand about 36 inches long and fold it in half. Thread the two cut ends through the eye together. The folded end hangs behind as a small loop, and that loop anchors your first stitch. You get 2 strands in the needle and no knot. The full method is in how to start embroidery without a knot.
Threading two separate strands instead? Line them up and trim both ends together, so neither one lags behind and catches on the eye.
Shaky hands and tired eyes
- Light from the side. Sit with a lamp or a window beside you. Light from behind puts the needle in your own shadow.
- A white background. Hold the needle against a white card or a sheet of paper, so the eye shows up as a bright slot.
- Brace your hands. Rest your elbows on the table and let your hands touch each other. Two hands that lean on each other shake far less than two hands in the air.
- Magnify it. A magnifier on a stand, clip-on lenses or your reading glasses all help. So does a needle with a longer eye.
- Thread ahead. At the start of a sitting, thread two or three needles with fresh lengths and park them on a pincushion or a needle minder.
- Skip the lick. If you must moisten the tip, barely touch it, then snip that bit off before you stitch, so nothing damp goes into your fabric.
Common threading problems
- The end frays into a brush.
- Cut it again, cleanly, with sharp scissors. Dull blades chew floss instead of cutting it.
- One strand goes through and the other doesn't.
- Trim both ends together at the same angle, or switch to the fold method, which treats them as one.
- The needle keeps slipping off the thread.
- Leave a longer tail, about 4 inches, and hold it against the needle for the first few stitches. With a loop start there's no loose tail to lose.
- The floss turns fuzzy at the eye.
- The eye is too tight for the strands. Use a needle with a bigger eye, and slide the needle along the thread now and then so the same spot doesn't keep rubbing. If it still frays, see why thread tangles and frays.
Questions people ask
Why won't my floss go through the needle?
Usually the eye is too small for the number of strands, or the end has frayed. Cut a fresh end at a slight angle, pinch it short and try the other side of the eye. If it still won't go, switch to a needle with a bigger eye.
How do you thread an embroidery needle?
Cut the floss cleanly at a slight angle, pinch the end so only a tiny tip shows, and lower the needle's eye onto it. If the end splits, fold the floss over the needle, pinch the fold and push that through instead.
How do you thread an embroidery needle with three strands?
Use a needle with a bigger eye, such as a size 7 crewel needle. Trim the three ends together, then use the fold method, because a flat fold of three strands goes through more easily than three loose ends.
Should you lick the thread to thread a needle?
Try not to. A barely damp tip can help, but it puts moisture into the floss. If you do it, snip that bit off before you start stitching.
Do I need a needle threader?
No, but it helps, especially in low light or with shaky hands. Pinch and press works most of the time, and the fold method handles floss that keeps splitting.
Sources: Needle 'n Thread: On threading a needle · DMC: Three ways to easily thread your needle · Embroiderers' Guild of America: The Little Book of embroidery basics (PDF) · Needle 'n Thread: Keeping it simple on hand embroidery needles