Needle threader

{{short description|Device to put thread through a needle}}

Image:NeedleThreader.svg

Image:Needle threader-9621.jpg

A needle threader is a device for helping to put thread through the eye of a needle. Many kinds exist, though a common type combines a short length of fine wire bent into a diamond shape, with one corner held by a piece of tinplate or plastic.

The user passes the wire loop through the needle eye, passes the string through the wire loop and, finally, pulls the wire loop, back, through the needle by the handle, which pulls the thread through at the same time. The typical needle threader of this type has the image of a woman, possibly, Arachne or Minerva in profile stamped into the plate handle.{{cite book|last1=Zieman|first1=Nancy|author-link=Nancy Zieman |title=Nancy's Favorite 101 Notions: Sew, Quilt and Embroider with Ease|date=2010|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Cincinnati, Ohio|isbn=978-1440216619|pages=22–23}}{{cite book|last1=Stanghon|first1=Lesley-Ann|title=The Handy Butler: Your Home Guide to Conversions and House Hold Queries|date=2010|publisher=AuthorHouse|location=Central Milton Keynes|isbn=978-1-4490-8598-8|page=113}}{{cite book|last1=Guerber|first1=H.A.|title=The Myths of Greece and Rome|date=2013|publisher=Dover|isbn=0-486-46812-7|pages=41-43}}

Another type of needle threader is mechanically operated. These may be part of a sewing or embroidery machine, or standalone tools.{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Alison|title=The Sewing Book|date=March 6, 2009|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=London|isbn=978-0-7566-4280-8|pages=22, 31, 37|edition=1st American}}

The first known use of needle threaders in Europe was in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century.{{cite web |url=https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/tools/embroidery/needle-threader |title=Needle Threader |date=13 May 2017 |website=Textile Research Centre |access-date=2 June 2019 }}