Easy way to thread a needle

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/02/01/easy-way-to-thread-a-needle.html

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Jaw = dropped. Thanks for this cool little hack.

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Holey buckets! I just tried it. Tried an embroidery needle (has a more-generously-sized eye) and a sharp (has a smaller, shorter eye) and it worked with both. It took a moment longer to get the technique down for the sharp, but it worked!

(…so far not getting it with the smallest, finest sharps that I have, but I really never use those anyway :slight_smile: )

Yes, thanks for the hack!

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I must have been taught by my mother - I have always done it this and wasn’t aware that people tried the other.

Thanks for sharing.

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Of course. Rubbing must take place first in order to…

… never mind.

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No effing way.

life changed

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That’s neat that your mother taught you this. My mom taught me the poke-the-thread-at-the-needle way. Later I worked in custom-sewing shops, and I never saw or heard of anyone doing it this way. I’ve never had trouble threading needles, but I like having options :slight_smile:

I remember at some point when I still lived with my folks, my mom started asking me to thread her needles for her, as her eyesight naturally got worse with age. Maybe if she had known this technique she might not have needed me to do it for her?

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I’ve been taught by my mother and she didn’t knew that technique.

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I have a feeling this will be a bit of a challenge with a sewing machine.

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Isn’t it fascinating - we think the way we do something (usually the way we were taught by someone else) is the natural and normal way to do it.

And then we find out that there are other ways and that “our” way is strange or different.

I guess the world is split into those that find this interesting and challenging, and those who find the other ways to be “wrong” or untraditional.

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Doesn’t work for me. Maybe my old skin lacks sufficient elasticity.

Needle threaders (both the poke and pull kind) work well and are dirt cheap.

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Didn’t work with my (typical, small) sharps and common polyester thread. Agreed that a needle threader is easy and foolproof.

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Weird, not sure I like the method more than what I discovered, which is just to pinch the thread between my thumb and forefinger so that there’s basically no string poking out.

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Holy shit! I just tried this technique and it worked quite splendidly! Thank you for this hack!

Now if you can give some advice about piecing this goddamned camel back together before its owner gets back.

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epoxyglue_41.jpg576×860 365 KB

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There’s a third way, which I didn’t see described in this thread. It’s how my mother taught me:

Fold the thread at the point you want the needle to sit in use. Put the loop around the needle, and then pinch the thread up way against the trapped needle. Pull the needle through so that the pinched loop comes off the eye-end of the needle. This “creases” the thread lightly. More importantly, it tends to make the now tiny, rigidly-held loop planar. Continue holding the pinched loop, and bring the needle eye over it. If you made the loop small enough, it should poke right through.

…that’s a lot of words, but it’s easier done than said.

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I’ve always just used a needle threader.

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Friggin’ magic trick.

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Saliva on the needle hole works great as well. The moisture literally wicks and pulls the thread into the needle hole.

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I tried this but couldn’t get it to work. The only needles I have are pretty small though.