Threading the Eye of a Needle

What should take 5 minutes takes a half hour

By Crest Koemel

How to get a thread through the eye of a needle

Today I am trying to stitch a pocket shut that is unflattering to my pants. I figure, hey it should be a quick 5 minute job where I do a simple straight/running stitch should be enough.

The happenstance

I’ve got everything laid out, break out the pants and then proceed to try to get the thread through the eye of my needle. Twenty minutes rolled by and I’ve tried:

  • Normal push
  • Twist to be harder
  • Old saliva trick
  • Twist and saliva
  • Strand to thread pull through

NADA

What worked

I took my thread scissors and cut a new line. Just like that the head of the thread was unfrayed, solid and went through the eye first try. So if you are struggling to get a thread through an eye try just trimming the line.

Outcome

The running stitch went well, but I accidentally swapped the exterior and interior line, so I just hope now one notices that on these pants. They’re not formal so the stakes are pretty low.

Tags: stitching