Are you so old that you can't see to thread the sewing machine needle?
Are you so short that you can't find pants, so you buy the waist and shorten the legs?
Do you want some article of clothing that doesn't exist in the store?
(Well, that was some decades ago, to be sure.)
At any rate, mom taught me to sew.
And I still do, when I run out of pants.
Or some other serious emergency occurs.
We actually have 3 sewing machines.
One Singer from a sweat shop, that's 100 years old. And sews left to right, not front to back.
One Juki, with a 1/4 hp motor and a clutch, that'll put stiches up to your elbow if you're not careful.
And A Necci that does zig-zag.
I like the Juki, but threading the needle is a bear.
However, I just invented how to thread the needle.
This works, if the needle eye goes left to right, not front to back.
(Well it'd work right to left as well, I guess.)
How do you know if it's left to right, and not right to left?
There's a groove in the needle, that you can feel with your fingernail.
If the groove is on the left, it's left to right.
That groove allows the needle to shield the thread as it goes up and down through the fabric.
1. Raise the needle kind of all the way up.
2. Look to see where the eye is - how far above the point.
3. Cut the thread, moisten your finger and try to make the end narrow.
4. Put your right index finger behind the needle where the eye is.
5. Press a bit against the needle, so that your finger is about even with the hole.
6. Use your finger to guide the thread toward the hole with your left hand.
It'll take a few tries, but once you figure it out, it's easier.
If you miss it more than a couple times, cut the end off again and pinch and moisten it again.
You'll only get a little bit through and you'll have to pull it.
That always takes me a couple tries - there isn't much to grab.
That's my invention for today.