Affiliate links may be included for your convenience. View our privacy and affiliates policy for details.
Of all the basic sewing and mending skills out there, the most basic is knowing how to thread a needle. If you know how to do it you might wonder how you could not know, but I’ve encountered plenty of people who weren’t exactly sure or had trouble threading a needle, so let’s get into it.
How to Choose a Needle
The first thing you need to think about before you get into how to thread a needle is what kind of needle to use. The main needles used for hand sewing with thread are known as sharps, quilting/betweens, tapestry or cross stitch needles, chenille needles and darning needles.
Most of the info here came from a great downloadable resource on sewing needles from John James Needles, which you should definitely check out if you want to know more about all the hand sewing needles available.
In general you will want to choose the smallest needle that works well for the job you need to do, especially if you’re sewing with delicate fabric. If you’re sewing on a button, the eye and the thread together need to fit through the button holes. But you should still be able to thread the needle easily and it should slide through the fabric relatively easily. If you’re getting caught trying to do simple stitching, a bigger needle may be in order.
Sharps
Sharps are general sewing needles that can be used for mending and hand sewing projects. As you might guess from their name, they are sharp, and they have small eyes that are less elongated than many other common needles.
The smaller the number, the longer and larger the needle. Sharps range in size from 1 to 12, with the most commonly used sizes being in the 5-9 range.
There are also larger sharps needles called carpet sharps that are used for carpet making. They have larger numbers (16-18) but are also larger needles.
Another version of the sharps needle is an embroidery needle, which it otherwise the same but it has a longer eye for easier threading of embroidery floss.
Quilting/Betweens
I can’t determine why these short, sharp needles made for hand quilting are called betweens, but they sometimes are. I have an old pack of beweens I think I inherited from my grandmother.
They are sized the same ways as sharps, running from 1 to 12, with the 12 being the smallest and shortest. The pack I have is all 7s, but you can also buy packs with multiple sizes.
Tapestry/Cross Stitch Needles
Tapestry needles have larger, longer eyes for easier threading of heavier threads or yarn or multiple strands of embroidery floss. The blunter point is great for sewing through cross stitch fabric or plastic canvas as it won’t split the fibers of the fabric as easily.
These are also ideal for weaving in yarn ends, and you can find tapestry needles with a bend at the tip that make it even easier to work through knitting or crochet stitches.
Here the sizing ranges from 13 at the largest to 28 at the smallest (and they’re all even numbers except 13; go figure).
Chenille needles are basically the same as tapestry needles but with a sharp point. I will admit to sometimes using them for cross stitch. I also don’t know the difference between chenille and embroidery needles other than the numbering convention, but I do have both.
Darning Needles
Darning needles are long and sharp, perfect for mending projects that involve darning holes. Larger sized darning needles may also be referred to as yarn darners, so they’re like a sharp version of a tapestry needle. I feel like chenille needles and darning needles are basically the same, and I don’t think I own any needles that were specifically labeled as darning needles.
The small darning needles come in sizes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, while the larger ones are 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Don’t ask me why.
How to Thread a Needle: The Poking Method
At its most basic, threading a needle comes down to poking the needle into the hole (or eye, officially) of the needle so that it will say on and you can sew with it.
So I call the most basic method poking, because that’s what you do. Just poke the end of the thread through the eye of the needle.
Here I’m showing threading a large needle with yarn because it’s easier to see, but the methods are the same regardless of the size of your needle or thread.
If you were working with thread, you’d cut about an arm’s length first, then poke one end through the eye. Pull a couple of inches through the needle to hold it on the needle while you stitch.
Alternatively you can double the thread by pulling the needle through to the center of the thread, then tie a knot. That’s how I do it when I’m sewing a button or something I want to be extra secure.
Fold and Poke
The method I most commonly use for how to thread a needle is what you might call the fold and poke method.
Take the thread and fold it a couple of inches from the end. Place this fold over the eye of the needle (so there’s one thread end on each side) and tug on the thread gently to make it tight around the needle.
Slide the needle out, keeping the yarn pinched between your fingers.
Poke it through the eye of the needle.
Pull the needle through until you’re past the folded part.
Using a Needle Threader
If you’re really having trouble threading a needle, you can use a needle threader.
This handy little device is made of a piece of thin wire attached to some kind of holder that makes it much easier to thread your needle.
To start, take the needle threader in your hand and slide the wire part into the eye of the needle.
Thread the thread through the wire “eye” by an inch or two.
Gently pull the threader back through the eye of the needle. Needle threaders like the one shown here aren’t super strong and I’ve broken a lot of them by pulling too hard. (The one linked about is a little sturdier.)
Pull the thread off the needle threader and position the needle where you want it along the thread to begin stitching.
If you don’t have a needle threader handy, you can cut a piece of paper small enough to fit through the eye of the needle when folded in half. Put the thread in the channel of the paper, stick it through the eye of the needle and pull through until the needle is threaded.
Other Helpful Things to Try
These tips don’t really fall into the category of how to thread a needle, but they are things you can try if you’re still having trouble.
One of the most common tips people will tell you to make needle threading easier is to wet the end of the thread before you try to thread it. Yes, most of us lick the thread, but you can just use water as I did here.
I’ve also heard of people licking the eye of the needle instead of the thread, but I haven’t tried that. You can also run the thread through beeswax to get all the fibers to hold together nicely and make it easier to thread.
Trimming the end of the thread can also help, especially if you’ve been trying to thread the needle for a while and its gotten fuzzy. The combination of these two things makes threading a needle a lot easier.
Another thing to try is a concept you can’t really show in a photo but instead of threading the needle, think of it as needling the thread. In this case the thread is what stays stationary while the needle moves to it. It’s a little difference but it really can help.
Do you have any tips and tricks for how to thread a needle? I’d love to hear them!
