I have a Brother sewing machine. It's a pretty fancy one ... but one of the features that I absolutely love on it, which I am sure would be available on the simpler models, is a super-easy automatic bobbin-threader. When I bought my machine (about 7 yrs ago), Brother had a patent pending on the design. You don't have to worry about winding down the needle halfway, pulling it back slightly, then trying to 'grab' the bobbin thread and pull back up through the hole IYKWIM.