I have a Universal sewing machine that dates probably from the 1930s. It's electric, with a foot pedal. It has a small "Made in Japan" plate attached, but the motor has a "Made in USA" plate attached. When I bought the machine the salesman told me that Japanese Universal machines were knock-offs of older Singers, and worked exactly the same way. The "face plate" where you will thread it is mounted on the left side rather than on the front. Oc4ever has linked to an instruction manual with pictures that are somewhat helpful but a little hard to decipher. I suggest looking at these to help orient yourself. First turn the machine to look at the face plate. At the top of mine are two notches. The notch on your right, toward the front, is just for filling a bobbin. You want to start threading by pulling the thread down from the left notch, the one toward the back. On the left side of the face plate are a lot of gizmos that I'll try to describe using the instruction manual for reference where possible. On page 2 of the manual is part #6, sticking out like a knob, identified on page 3 as the "thread tension regulator". You'll see that it's two round plates held together with a spiral spring where you can adjust the pressure. Most of the next few parts are not shown or described in the manual, so you'll have to bear with me here. Directly to the right of the tension regulator is a flimsy-looking wire that looks a bit like a thin paperclip that's been bent out of shape; this moves up and down slightly. Just above the tension regulator is a piece of heavy-duty metal sticking straight out from the face plate, and is then bent at a right angle to the left, over the top of the tension regulator - this doesn't move at all. Above all of these pieces is the "take-up lever", shown in the manual. This is an arm that sticks out from a vertical slot in the face plate; it has a hole at the end. You want to have this lever in its highest position, by turning the large flywheel at the other end of the sewing machine. (While you're looking at the flywheel, make sure the bobbin winder is disengaged from it; this should always stay disengaged except when you are winding a bobbin.) (1) First pull the thread down from the rear (left) notch at the top of the face plate, and (2) slip it between the two tension plates from the left side, pulling it beneath and straight over to the right. (3) Now pull the thread up slightly, over the top of the flimsy bent-paperclip-like wire, down behind the wire, and back up so that it catches in the top bend of the wire, pulling it up a little. Do not pull the thread over the top of the heavier piece of bent metal - that will come next. (4) From the top bend in the flimsy wire, pull the thread underneath the heavy piece of metal, catching it in the bend, and (5) pulling it up and through the hole in the take-up lever, from left (back) to right (front), and back down. Next, there is a little round hook sticking out from the center of the face plate, about 2/3 of the way down, so that it's roughly aligned with the bottom of the tension regulator. (6) This hook is open on the right (front) side, so you can slip the thread behind it rather than threading through it. Finally, (7) there is one last hook attached to the needle assembly, beneath the face plate; hook the thread behind here, and you're done, ready to thread your needle. Catch the bobbin thread by turning the large flywheel toward you by hand, and pull both threads together toward the back of the machine. Remember to hold onto both threads before starting your first stitch.
