Threading the needle

Once upon a time, when I was young, I could thread any needle, read small print and bead with tiny beads.

Those days alas are in my past. Now it’s reading glasses and any kind of tool I can find to – thread the needle.I think we are all familiar with this fellow, our Roman Guy. This simple tool is ubiquitous in all of our sewing baskets. Yes it works, but you still need pretty sharp eyes to get the wire diamond through the eye of the needle. The smaller the needle, the harder it is and if your needle is tiny the wire won’t go through. This is the simplest of it’s type, google and you will find all kind of iterations of this type.

Next up, the Clover Needle Threader. these come in two sizes, one for fine needles and one for larger ones. I bought the fine needle threader.   Simple operation, put the needle in the slot, drape the thread and push the lever a few times. Then gingerly, remove the needle and hope the loop of thread comes with it. Pull the loop until one end remains. Then cut with the handy cutter.

I’ve been happy with this contraption until a quilting friend introduced me to this guy.The Bohin Needle threader.  Bohin is a French company that specializes in superior tools for the home sewer and quilter.

As you can see, one  tool that will thread two sizes of needles. My grandson was my handy little helper. (only way to get these photos is to have him be my assistant). As he depresses the brown button, a small lever pushes the thread through the eye of the needle, similar to how the purple one works.Keep on pushing and a loop of thread appears.Ok, I helped things along, the loop is big now. At this point, you pull on the loop until one end emerges.  Now, when you remove the needle, it is completely threaded!This threader also has the handy cutter, which means this can easily go through airport security and one can get some hand work done on a plane.There is a magnet on the bottom, so when you lose your needle, and who hasn’t, just  wave it over the table or floor and let the magnet find the missing needle.

I’m a big believer in having the right tool for the job.