Originally Posted by vintagemotif

The 201s have a reverse. The lever that lifts up above the plate with the numbers for the stitch length is used to put it in reverse. Just raise lever up when needle is up, then treadle and the machine will do a reverse stitch. I use my reverse (201 in treadle) when I sew clothes. Hope that helps you. And yes, sometimes I make the machine go backwards when I treadle. ;)

Originally Posted by Kat Sews

to control the direction (forward of back) my mother held the hand wheel and gave it a little push when she first started rocking the treadle. She would stop, restart backward, then stop and start forward again.

Originally Posted by vintagemotif

The manual says to thread the needle from the left to right. I won't work for me. I tried threading it from right to left and it works perfectly!! Either my manual is wrong or my baby has a mind of her own. hehe

Originally Posted by trueimage

Here is the manual that I use for information on threading:
http://needlebar.org/main~nb/manuals/singer201/index2.html

And needle position:
http://needlebar.org/main~nb/manuals/singer201/index.html

You are correct, and your manual was wrong. I thread mine from right to left and needle has flat side pointing left. First links shows how to load bobbin. Have fun treadling!