Based on a video by Made to Sew.
Threading a sewing machine looks intimidating until someone shows you the path. Once you've traced it once, it's the same on almost every domestic machine - spool pin, top guide, tension disks, take-up lever, lower guides, needle.
This walkthrough from Made to Sew breaks the path into seven simple steps with the small details that beginners often skip (presser foot up, take-up lever raised, thread direction off the spool). Skip those and the machine fights you; do them and the thread sits cleanly every time.
Turn the sewing machine off at the on/off switch on the right side - safety first, and it stops the needle from moving while your fingers are near it.
Lift the presser foot using the lever at the back or side of the machine. This is the step almost everyone forgets. With the foot down, the tension disks clamp shut and your thread can't slide between them. Foot up, disks open, smooth threading.
Look at the top of your machine - you'll have a horizontal spool pin, a vertical one, or both. Cross-wound thread (the wind goes side to side) feeds best off a horizontal pin. Stacked thread (parallel rings) feeds best off a vertical pin.
Slide the spool onto the matching pin and slide a spool cap on the end to hold it in place. The cap should be slightly bigger than the spool's diameter so the thread doesn't catch on its edge.
Tip
Most thread you buy at a fabric store is cross-wound, so the horizontal pin is the default for almost everyone.
Pull thread off the spool and bring it across the top of the machine to the first thread guide - usually a small hook or post toward the back.
Pass the thread behind the guide so it sits in the slot. This is the anchor point that keeps tension consistent before the thread reaches the disks.
Bring the thread down the front of the machine through the marked channel to the tension disks. There's a clear groove or arrow showing the path.
The thread must sit between the two metal disks - not in front of them or beside them. With the presser foot still up, this is easy. If you can't tell whether the thread is in the disks, give it a gentle tug; you should feel slight resistance.
Turn the handwheel on the right of the machine until the take-up lever rises to its highest position - it's the metal hook that pokes through a slot at the top front.
Loop the thread from right to left around the back of the lever and into its eye. Skipping this step is the number one cause of mystery thread tangles. Some machines have the lever hidden behind a panel; the threading arrows on the body still mark its location.
Bring the thread back down the front of the machine. There may be one or two small metal hooks or guides between the take-up lever and the needle - pass the thread behind each one.
The last guide is usually a small hook just above the needle. The thread should now be sitting flush against the front of the machine, leading straight down to the needle.
Thread the needle from front to back on a domestic machine. Pull about 6 inches of thread through and lay it back behind the presser foot.
Lower the presser foot. You're threaded. Turn the handwheel one full rotation to make sure the thread feeds smoothly through the path - if it catches anywhere, it'll show up here before you waste a stitch.
Tip
If your machine has a built-in needle threader (a small lever on the side), use it - it bends the thread through the needle eye automatically and saves the squinting.
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