Needle is inserted flat side to the left? (threads from right to left). Having it in for service is not a bad idea at all, but I would keep cleaning and tending to it a bit more. I had a 201 with a needle that slightly rubbed against the race (the rotating part the bobbin case is placed on). I thought maybe timing was out, I wasn't sure, and it took me two weeks before I discovered what the problem was:
Behind the needle clamp were a lot of dirt and grime packed into the grooves of the needle bar. I spent some time scraping out the grime with a wooden tooth pick, cleaning the clamp parts and when it was all reassembled again there were suddenly plenty of clearing between needle and race. Enough dirt and grime to put the needle off sync, but my 201 was generally dirty to beging with, nothing really bad though.
It's worth cheking for issues like that, it can take a bit of time and effort. There's help to be found; the
service manual for 221 is available as pdf, as well as an
adjusters manual; it has very neat pictures of the bobbin parts.