AboutSharon Vogel Expertise I can answer general sewing questions as well as tailoring, heirloom, menswear, children's wear, craft sewing, quilting and just about any fabric or notion. I can also help with some sewing machine repair and maintenance.
Experience I started sewing at the age of 3...thanks to my mom and grandmother, and I am now in my fifties. Home economics classes in junior high and high school helped me to finesse my skills.
Education/Credentials Palmer and Plesch tailoring class
Basically, self-taught...give me the instructions and I will figure it out and then make it better!
Awards and Honors A few blue ribbons at fairs along the way
Question Hi Sharon, I have a Singer 201k (hand crank) which I have just inherited but I am having problems starting to sew.
I thread & insert the bobbin, and I have threaded the upper part of the machine correctly as far as I can see. I have checked that the needle is in the right way as well.
The bit I am struggling on is getting the thread to raise through the hole. My instructions say to turn the hand crank to lower the needle down then up and this will make the thread catch from below...except it doesn't. The needle just goes in and out and nothing catches. I got it to catch once but that was by turn the hand crank the wrong way and then the thread got jammed in the bobbin case.
I have got the feeling the answer might be simple so forgive me because I am new to this :)
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Victoria
Answer Dear Victoria,
The problem probably lies in the tension setting. Somewhere on the head of the machine is a tension dial or lever. It needs to be loosened to allow the thread to go down far enough to catch and pull up the bobbin thread. It could also be something to do with the bobbin tension. The bobbin case should have a small screw on the side that can be loosened or tightened. In this case, it should be tightened. Experiment a bit and see if you can get it to work. I am sure you can find a balance.
Good luck and let me know if I can be of further assistance.
