How to Thread a Punch Needle
Threading is the only fiddly part of punch needle. The good news is that it takes four small steps and one clever piece of wire. Do it twice and your hands will remember it.
Meet the two tools
The punch needle is a hollow metal tube with a handle. The tip is cut at a slant and has a small eye near the point. Thread travels down the inside of the tube.
The threader is a long, very fine loop of wire. It is thin enough to slide through the needle and long enough to come out the other end. It does the job your fingers cannot.
Both are included in every one of our punch needle embroidery kits, so there is nothing extra to buy.
How to thread a punch needle in four steps
- Push the threader up through the tip. Start at the pointed end. Feed the wire into the needle and keep going until the wire loop comes out of the top of the handle.
- Pass the thread through the wire loop. A few centimeters through is plenty.
- Pull the threader back out through the tip. Pull gently and steadily. The wire brings the thread down through the handle, through the tube and out of the tip.
- Leave a short tail at the tip and slide the thread off the wire. You are ready to punch.
Before you punch
Unwind a comfortable length of thread from the bobbin so it can feed without tugging. The thread should slide freely through the needle when you pull the tail. If it feels stuck, pull it out and thread again. It takes seconds and saves a row of sulking loops.
When threading goes wrong
The thread keeps slipping out of the needle
Leave a longer tail at the tip, and hold that tail against the canvas with a finger for the first two or three punches. Once a few loops are in, they anchor the thread.
The threader will not go through
Make sure you are starting from the tip, not the handle. If the wire has a kink, smooth it straight between two fingers and try again. Go slowly. The wire is fine and does not enjoy being forced.
The end of the thread is fluffy
Snip it clean with sharp scissors before passing it through the wire loop. A neat end goes through the first time.
The thread came through, but the loops pull out
That is usually not a threading problem. Either the needle is being lifted too high between punches or the thread is caught somewhere. The troubleshooting guide walks through both.
Changing colors
Every color change is a rethread, so you will get plenty of practice. Snip the old thread close to the canvas, pull what is left out of the needle, and repeat the four steps with the next bobbin. On a numbered canvas, the color guide tells you which bobbin matches which number.
Look after the threader
The threader is the one part of the kit that is easy to lose and easy to bend. Keep it flat, park it in the same spot every time, and do not leave it on the sofa. Sofas eat threaders.
Next: make some loops
With the needle threaded, the rest is rhythm. How to punch needle, step by step picks up exactly where this leaves off. If you do not have a kit yet, the easy starter kits are the gentlest place to begin, and you can browse all punch needle kits if you already know you want the cat.
