Originally Posted by Bluphrog

That's not quite right. Older Singers used both rounded and pointed needles, depending on what was being sewn. The rounded needles are called ball point needles and are for sewing polyester fabrics. The ball shape of the point pushes the fibers aside, rather than piercing them. Pointed needles (sharps) are for use with natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk, etc.), because they pierce the fibers. Ball point needles were not the only needles you could use on the older Singers. I bought my first Singer in 1971, and changed needles depending on what type of fabric I was sewing on, though that was when doubleknit was all the rage, so I did use ball point needles a lot. To make things even more confusing, the universal needles can be used in place of either ball point or sharp needles, as they are slightly less pointed than sharps, but not as rounded as ball points.

Quilters use sharps because they are sewing cotton fabric, but if you are sewing garments using knit fabrics, you would use ball point needles.

Originally Posted by bjnicholson

I think she meant the actual needle is round rather that having a flat side where you insert it.

Originally Posted by ewecansew

Presser foot has to be up to change the top tension. You want the thread to go between the tension discs. On this machine the flat side of the needle has to go to the back. Are there loopies on the bottom of the fabric---top tension should be set around 4.