I had that problem and I solved it by making a thread holder. I took an old coffee cup, a little round wooden wheel (like you get in the craft bags at Walmart) and part of a wooden pencil (probably three inches, or so). I glued the pencil in the hole of the little round wooden wheel, then glued the wheel to the bottom of the cup. Used hot glue gun and just let it dry thoroughly. The Essentials thread fits down on it perfectly. I also took a regular paper clip and taped it onto the top of my machine directly above the cup. I run the thread through the paper clip and then just thread my machine as usual. Works for me.