Many inventors modified and improved sewing machines through the 1800s. Elias Howe and Isaac Merritt Singer are credited with the foot treadle and these machines became very popular. On the ...

In fact, the quality of these early machines is so good that there are still many Singer treadle sewing machines in use ... A vertical presser foot kept the cloth in place during the upstroke ...

[Grow Your Own Clothes] had finally found their ideal sewing machine for doing zig-zag stitches (/\/\/\) and converting to a treadle drive (mechanically foot-fed) — a Singer 411G. This is a well ...