Help with 201k singer machine

[Michelle]

 My son is 12 and owns a 201k electric singer. He went to use it the other day and the thread was all loose on the underneath of the fabric and kept jamming. Can anyone advise what settings need to be changed? The fabric he's using is a medium weight cotton. The machine was serviced last year. I think I may have changed some of the settings when using the gathering foot. Please help, thank you x

[Wychall]

Go back to basics. Check that the needle is correctly seated, or better still fit a new one. Make sure you have the same weight thread in the bobbin as on top. Remove, clean and retread the bobbin. Retread the upper thread ensuring that you follow the correct path and pass between the discs of the tension unit. When rethreaded, gently pull the upper thread through the needle. You should feel a slight resistance and should see a slight deflection (bending) of the needle, just 1 or 2mm at the tip. No deflection? Increase top tension. Excessive deflection, reduce tension. Finally put some fabric under the needle and lower the presser foot. Make sure you can pull the fabric towards the back of the machine but not towards the front. Increase or decrease presser foot pressure as necessary. Make sure the needle is not in the fabric for this test. Hopefully this will cure your problem.
Report back if you still have difficulty. Good luck.

[Roger]

its also worth checking that the needle is correctly seated and the right way round... I lent a 401 to a friend and they were complaining about its stitch quality - the needle was the wrong way round. They thought it was tension or timing...

[BrendaP]

Make sure that the bobbin is in the right way round - the end of teh thread should pull away from you on the left my way of remembering that is class 66 bobbin, thread in the shape of a 6.  Also ensure that the bobbin thread goes under the teeny hook on the side of the bobbin holder so that it too is tensioned.

[KayK]

Agree with the needle and bobbin being in and threaded the right way round - a quick look on You Tube will show you, as sometimes the little instruction books that come with them are a little difficult to read - or have pages missing!

[Michelle]

Thanks so much for all your help. I'll try it today. I have the instruction book for it, so I know it's threaded the correct way into the needle, my older hand crank is the opposite direction. I will re—thread it completely and check the needle. Fingers crossed... I'll let you know the results x