I have now got to the age when I cannot look at anything close up without wearing reading glasses, its a complete pain the butt. So into the realms of needle threaders I wander.
First the most basic Singer needle threader which works perfectly fine using a fine wire loop system.
The next two are Singer needle threaders for threading your sewing machine, I don't really need these quite yet. Having threaded up so many times, think I can do it without looking. These have tiny weeny hooks that you push through the eye of the needle, hook the thread and pull it back through.
Complete with original instructions, apparently you can buy replacement hooks from your Singer Sewing Shop! Bet you can't now.
It's hand sewing needles I have a problem with, especially my dinky quilting Size 9 needles I use for English paper piecing. Their eyes are tiny, but I do like using these needles. Have tried out a large eye quilting needle which worked OK. Most of the time I do still thread by without a threader but I do use them when the light isn't so good.
This combination needle threader and scissors sharpener is a real handy thing to have. The sharpener is great, gets a good sharp edge on all sizes of scissors. The threader is the fine wire loop type.
This one is a Blindfold needle threader. The needle is placed in the top, you press the plunger which pushes a fine hook through the eye, then you loop your thread over the hook and release the plunger which pulls the thread back through the eye. This one works well, even threading the Size 9 needles with ease.
Another design of threader is to push the thread through the needle with a sharp point. This is probably a 50s/60s version.
Needle in the top, press the lever down to move the fine point to push the thread through the eye. This one comes with a thread cutter and a spindle for a bobbin of thread. When using this and the Blindfold, give the needle a quick pull to test if the point has gone through the eye, if the needle comes out, try again. Make sure you have the eye in facing the right direction.
Finally, this dinky thimble. I just love this idea. When I bought it, the little slider was stuck at the side so I couldn't work out what it was there for. I played around with it and got it to move and up popped a threader. Never seen one like this before. Not sure if I will use it though as I would hate to break the wire.
Cheers
Sharon
Very interesting post. I've got a plastic threader that came with a machine I acquired and I haven't yet worked out how to use it! I certainly need one these days even with glasses on. It's easier to thread my Bernina than the Singers, which is front to back and has a white bit behind the needle to make threading easier.
ReplyDeleteThe ordinary wire threaders work well as long as your eyesight is good enough to see the fine wire and the eye of the needle! I hate this getting older!
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