Before I used my new machine, I watched all of the YouTube videos I could find. Finding the threading 'shortcuts' fascinating, I gave them a try. I ended up with a mess! My previous serger was quite old and extremely challenging to thread. Decided to follow the instructions on this machine and found that it was very much easier to thread than the so-call easier shortcuts! It's almost as easy as threading my sewing machine! This is a great machine and very easy to work with. So far I'm finding that the tension has been easy to work with. The price was great. I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Thank you Brother!