How To Top Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

How To Top Thread A Brother Sewing Machine guide will give you the easy steps to follow to thread your machine and start sewing.

Whether you’re a beginner or you just bought a new Brother machine, unboxing and threading it for the first time, might look intimidating, but Brother Industries is always thinking about making it simple for any sewers level.

Learning to top threading your machine will be easy once you learn the steps to follow.

How To Top Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

Any time you want to top threading your Brother Sewing Machine, the first thing is to turn it on.

A good tip to keep in mind will be to check on the type of thread and needle you’ll be using on your project, before you top thread your machine.

When sewing on any project, you want to get the best stitching quality, in order to get it, you need to use the type of thread and needle recommended for each type of fabric you’ll be using on your project.

There is a section where you can find the type of needle and thread recommended for different types of fabric on your machine’s manual.

Before you start threading your machine, turn it on and raise the needle by turning the hand wheel toward you, if your machine comes with the needle position button, press it to raise the needle.

Related: How To Bobbin A Brother Sewing Machine

1 – Insert The Spool of Thread Onto The Spool Pin

The first thing to do is to open the spool pin, don’t grab the bar to raise it, there is a lever to push with your finger to raise the spool pin.

To insert the spool of thread onto the spool pin, the thread must come from the bottom, and insert the spool cap should be the right size to the spool, your machine comes with different spool cap size, choose the one that is correct for the size of the spool of thread you’ll be using for your project.

When sewing, it’s always better if you leave a small space between the cap and the spool.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

2 – Pass The Thread Under The Thread Guide

With your fingers, hold the thread and pass it under the thread guide.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

3 – Pass The Thread Under The Thread Guide Cover From the Back to the Front

Hold the thread with your right-hand, and with your left-hand hold the thread end and pass it under the thread guide, feed the thread from top to the bottom on the right opening.

You will see there is a curved arrow printed between the two opening on the front of the machine, with your left-hand pass the thread there to get to the left opening, go up and you will see there is a metal hook (thread take-up lever), pass the thread from right to left.

Note: if the needle in your machine is not raised, you might get some problems to get the thread into the thread take-up lever, all you need to do is to check needle position and raise it, try again to pass your thread from right to left through the thread take-up lever.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

4 – Put The Thread Behind The Needle Bar

Hold your thread with your left-hand, and hold with your right-hand the thread end and pass it behind the needle bar.

Before you go to the next step, turn off your machine.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

5 – Thread Your Needle From Front To Back

Many sewers might like to thread their machines with their fingers, as you get more skilled, this method is always faster.

Many Brother machines come with the threading feature, all you need check if the needle is lifted and with your right-hand (thumb) push gently the threader lever, it will lower and place right behind the needle, hook your thread onto the guide, and fully lower the needle threader lever.

Catch your thread from the back of the needle, and gently pull your thread. Release the needle threader lever.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

6 -Pass The End Of Your Thread To The Rear Of Your Machine

Pull the loop of the thread passed through the eye of the needle toward the rear of your machine.

Pass the end of the thread through the presser foot, and gently pull out about 2 inches of thread toward the rear of your machine.

Note: if you notice any problem while pulling your thread toward the rear of your machine, don’t force it, as it can bend the needle, check if the presser foot lever and the needle are up.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

Drawing Up The Lower Thread

Your machine should have the bobbin on its case and ready to be drawn up, in case, you want to learn how to bobbing the bobbin and place it on its place, you can read the tutorial here.

When drawing up the lower thread, hold the end of the top thread with your left-hand, and with your right-hand turn gently the hand wheel towards you, the needle will be lower and it will catch the lower thread, keep turning gently the hand wheel, until you get the lower thread up.

Take both threads toward the rear of your machine.

Note: On some new machines, all you need to do is to get the bobbin on its case and place the top cover, when you start sewing, the top thread will catch the lower thread and your machine will deliver quality stitching on all your projects, you need to read on your sewing machine if your machine model has this feature or not.

Test Your Machine Before You Start Sewing On Your Project

The best tip I got from the technician was to always test the sewing machine anytime you thread it or you change the thread on the machine, same tip will go if you change the needle.

Grab a piece of fabric the same type you’ll be working with on your project and test your machine, it should deliver a quality stitching always, and never leave an oil mark or any lint on the stitches.

When doing the test run, always fold the fabric, so you can test it like you will work on any seam, double layer or triple layer.

In case, you need to adjust the thread tension, or the stitching length or width.

If you don’t get a nice stitching quality, try to re-thread your machine again, it might solve the problem.

How To Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

When you’re looking to learn to sew, threading your new machine might look intimidating, but as you learn how to do it, following the easy steps the manufacturer gives you on the manual, you will get used to doing it after a couple of times you do it.

Any time you purchase a new sewing machine, it’s always recommended to read the manual and see if the steps for top threading a Brother Sewing Machine change from one model to another.

Most Brother sewing machines must be threaded in the same way, and they are designed to be top threading in less than a minute or so, as you get used to your new machine, it will be easier to do.

As always we hope this tutorial helps you to get the best from your sewing machine!

Happy Sewing!

How To Top Thread A Brother Sewing Machine

7 thoughts on “How To Top Thread A Brother Sewing Machine”

  1. Hi Alex!

    My mum has a Brother Sewing Machine and she sews for her job. She makes winning badges for competitions and they look easy to make, when I watched her but I tried it once and it was really hard. Your article is very good for someone who is a beginner like me so I can learn the basics and work my way up. 

    Thank you so much for sharing this article with us and I wish you the best!

    Amzy 

  2. This is actually really great information!  I had a machine and then moved across country, so ended up selling it. My friend lent me her Brother sewing machine so I could get a few projects done.  I know that I did not thread it properly after viewing your post.  No wonder I had so many problems!  I got frustrated and stuck it in the closet!

  3. Greetings! I went through your article and I found it very amazing. I am a beginner in sewing but since I’ve done this before, it sounds very easier now. I like the way you have outlined these steps, they are clear and easy to understand. I will be sharing this article with my sister, she’s a beginner too and I hope it helps her.
    Thanks for sharing this amazing piece of writing with us.

  4. Thank you. Yes, this process of top threading really seemed intimidating. But you explained it in a way that made it easy to understand. Thanks for this post and I will also share it with my sister that was wondering the same thing as me. I can’t wait to put my first skirt together.

  5. I think the Brother is a fantastic machine, and I’m still learning how to use it. I adore this machine. I agree with you about the needle threader; it’s a bit intimidating and complicated. I have a Brother Pacesetter XL 5100. I’d like to see if anyone has a manual for it because it’s quite complicated (at least to me) and I can’t even get it threaded!

  6. This Article brings back so many memories. I somehow knew how to sew by hand, watching my mom sew when I was 4 and 5 years old. I picked sewing back up as a teenager because we could not always afford me clothes, so I learned real fast how to make alterations and extend the life of the clothes I had. 

    Who would have thought maybe 4 to 5 years in adulthood I would be running a Tuxedo shop. It was my first time using a sewing machine. I had some training, of course. However, I have to tell you it would have been helpful to have your article as a reference back then. After reading your post, I think I may get a sewing machine for home and see if I still got it! Thank you so much for writing such an informative article. 

  7. Thank you for this well detailed article explaining how to top thread a brother sewing machine in a very simple and easy ways.

    for a very long time now, my husband has been the only one fixing our fabrics in the house. But now with your article, I would begin to give him some helps with treading of the needles henceforth.

    Thank you for sharing.

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