How to Thread an Embroidery Machine (Top Thread and Bobbin)

Threading an embroidery machine is the same few moves each time: needle up, presser foot up, thread in order, bobbin in the right way. Most threading problems, like breaks, loops and bobbin thread on top, start with a skipped guide or a presser foot left down.

The steps below follow Brother’s online operation manual for its single-needle embroidery machines. This site is not affiliated with Brother. Models differ in key names, the thread path and the bobbin cover, so treat this as the general order and check your own manual for the diagram. Our Brother first project guide covers the rest of a first stitch-out.

Before you start

• Use the right thread. Brother says most embroidery uses 40-weight rayon or polyester embroidery thread, and warns never to use thread of weight 20 or lower. Our thread guide explains weights.
• Check the needle. Brother’s needle threader works with 75/11 to 90/14 needles. A bent or worn needle causes trouble no matter how well you thread, so see the needle guide.
• Lock the keys. Brother tells you to touch the lock icon on the screen so the machine cannot start by accident while your hands are near the needle. Unlock when you finish.
• Raise the needle. Press the needle position button once or twice. The needle has to be at its highest position for the needle threader to work.

Thread the top thread

1. Turn on the machine and raise the needle.
2. Raise the presser foot lever. Brother is clear that the machine cannot be threaded with the foot down.
3. Take off the spool cap. Put the spool on the spool pin so the thread unwinds from the bottom toward the front. For fast-unwinding thread such as metallic, Brother says to put a spool net over the spool.
4. Slide the spool cap on with the rounded side to the left, pushed as far right as it goes. Use a cap that fits your spool. Brother warns that a poorly seated spool or cap can tangle the thread and break the needle.
5. Hold the thread near the spool, pass it through the thread guide cover and under the thread guide plate, and pull it up.
6. Follow the numbered thread path in your manual’s diagram. Brother’s manual has you check through a window that the thread is fed into the take-up lever.
7. Slide the thread behind the needle bar thread guide, to the left of its tab.
8. Pull the thread to the left, through the notch of the threader thread guide, and into the slit of the guide disk (the one marked 7 in Brother’s manual).
9. Lower the presser foot lever. Cut the thread with the cutter on the left side. For fast-unwinding thread, pull out about 3 in (8 cm) instead of cutting.
10. Lower the needle threader lever until it clicks, then let it return slowly.
11. Gently pull the thread end through the eye. If a loop forms in the eye, pull the loop through to free the end.
12. Raise the presser foot, pass the thread under it and pull about 4 in (10 cm) toward the back.

If your thread or needle will not work with the threader, thread the needle by hand from front to back.

Wind the bobbin

Brother’s manual uses plastic Class 15 (A style) bobbins, 11.5 mm (about 7/16 in) wide. Use the type supplied with your machine or the same type, and the bobbin thread recommended for it.

1. Open the top cover and put the bobbin on the winder shaft, lining up its notch with the spring on the shaft. Slide the shaft to the right until it clicks.
2. Put the spool on the pin and fit the cap as above.
3. Take the thread through the guide cover and under the thread guide plate, under the hook on the bobbin winding thread guide, and counterclockwise around the pretension disk. Make sure it passes under the disk.
4. Wind the thread clockwise around the bobbin five or six times, pass it through the guide slit in the bobbin winder seat and cut it.
5. Press Start/Stop to wind. When winding slows, press Start/Stop to stop the machine.
6. Cut the thread with the cutter, slide the winder shaft back to the left until it clicks and remove the bobbin.

Brother warns to wind clockwise, or the thread may wrap around the winder shaft, and to stop when winding slows, or the machine may be damaged. It also says to cut the thread with the built-in cutter. Its manual gives no specific winding speed.

Install the bobbin

1. Raise the needle, lock the keys, and raise the presser foot lever.
2. Slide the bobbin cover latch to the right and take the cover off.
3. Hold the bobbin in your right hand and the thread end in your left. Place the bobbin in the case so the thread unwinds to the left. Brother’s manual says to use a bobbin that is correctly wound, because a badly wound bobbin gives wrong tension and can break the needle.
4. Hold the bobbin down lightly and guide the thread around the tab on the needle plate.
5. Keep holding it lightly and pull the thread through the slit in the needle plate. A gentle pull seats it under the tension spring.
6. Keep guiding the thread through the slit, then cut it with the cutter.
7. Insert the tab on the lower left of the bobbin cover, press the right side down to close it, and unlock the keys.

Keep a finger on the bobbin while you pull the thread, because Brother says otherwise the thread may break or the tension may be wrong.

Changing color mid-design

When the design calls for a new color, repeat the top threading steps with the new spool, presser foot up as before. Brother’s manual also has a separate section on winding the bobbin without removing the upper thread.

If something goes wrong after threading

Symptom	Likely cause	Where to look
Thread keeps breaking	Missed guide, wrong needle, poor thread	Thread breaking guide
Bobbin thread shows on top	Top thread not seated, tension	Bobbin thread on top guide
Thread piles under the fabric	Top thread skipped a guide or the bobbin is in wrong	Bird nesting guide

When a problem appears, rethread the top from the spool with the presser foot up, and reinstall the bobbin. Brother’s manual says improper threading can tangle the thread and break the needle, so rethreading is the first thing to try.

Single-needle machines like the Brother PE800 and the Brother SE700 follow a similar order, but the diagram on your own model is the final word.

Frequently asked questions

How do I thread a Brother embroidery machine?

Raise the needle and the presser foot lever, place the spool on the pin, guide the thread through the thread path to the needle bar thread guide, use the needle threader, then draw the thread through and under the presser foot. Brother's manual stresses that you cannot thread the machine with the presser foot down.

Why must the presser foot be up when threading?

Brother's manual says the machine cannot be threaded with the presser foot lever down.

How do I thread an embroidery machine bobbin?

Wind the bobbin, open the bobbin cover, place the bobbin in the case with the thread unwinding in the direction the manual shows (to the left in Brother's manual), guide the thread around the needle plate tab and into the tension slit, cut it, then close the cover.

What size needle works with the needle threader?

Brother's manual says its needle threader works with 75/11 through 90/14 machine needles and is not recommended for specialty threads. Thread those by hand from front to back.

Can I use any thread in an embroidery machine?

Use thread made for your machine. Brother warns never to use thread of weight 20 or lower, because it may cause malfunctions, and says most embroidery uses 40-weight rayon or polyester embroidery thread.

Sources

• support.brother.com/g/s/hf/htmldoc/hsm/om/888p6x/en/02_02.html
• support.brother.com/g/s/hf/htmldoc/hsm/om/888p6x/en/02_01_01.html
• support.brother.com/g/s/hf/htmldoc/hsm/om/888p6x/en/02_01_03.html