I was told by a hand piecer and quilter from just above me in Elgin, QC that when you pull the thread off of a spool, you thread the end that was just cut off of the spool in the the needle first, knot it, then pull the thread the rest of the way to a usable length. The original firt cut will be at the end of your sewing and therefore will have come off of the spool in the opposit direction it was wound on and shouldn't twist.