Do you know that the thread needs to come through the needle from the right side??? Rather than left to right.

Thanks for your help and comments. I've been being patient, working with a tweezer to pull out some threads... I'll try tonight again, then perhaps get brave and try the featherweight221 link that shows how to unjam the thread - it does look pretty clear... I'm just chicken! And, yes, I did thread the needle from right to left - I'm visiting my daughter, who has a newborn 3 days old - and I had the machine shipped to her home ... now I just need time to really work on it!

While pulling on the thread do not pull hard. Jiggle the hand wheel as you gently pull on the thread. Pulling hard on the thread can break the tip off of the hook. (I have repaired one that had the thread yanked on and the tip broken off of the hook. Not easy to find the expensive parts.) If you take it apart take care with the screws and parts, they are expensive also. Working on a soft surface (old towel)and placing small parts on a magnet or in a magnetic dish helps. You can do this.

Avoid turning the hand wheel backwards, this causes the top thread to get jammed up in behind the bobbin case base.

When I first sewed on my [new to me] freatherweight it had the same problems with thread wrapped around the bobbin. When I gentlely picked out the thread I also discovered there was a ball of lint behind the bobbin casing. Used a small cosmetic type brush and tweezers to get that out. Now it sews just fine.