Samuel Crompton was an English inventor who invented the Spinning Mule in 1779, which spun yarn suitable for use in the muslin and other textile industries. This was during the Industrial Revolution.
in english the machine age is called THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION i belive that it occured because if the increase in raw materials availability from the discovery of the america and the use of slaves....
It depends on which model you have. There are several websites that have examples with illustrations. Just type how to thread a sewing machine, and look at several of the sites.