First in sewing team, one has a thread (5)
I believe the answer is:
screw
'one has a thread' is the definition.
(a thread is the helical ridge on a screw)
'first in sewing team' is the wordplay.
'first in' suggests taking the first letters.
'team' becomes 'crew' (crew is a kind of team).
The first letter of 'sewing' is 's'.
's'+'crew'='SCREW'
(Other definitions for screw that I've seen before include "Threaded bolt" , "con" , "little twister!" , "Fixer; twist of paper" , "Hack" .)