Treadle Sewing Machines

• Treadle machines were among the first produced for use in the home. A foot-powered treadle operated the cabinet-mounted machine. This allowed for quick and easy sewing.
  
  

Hand Crank Machines

• Hand cranked sewing machines replaced the treadle with a hand crank mounted on the flywheel of the sewing machine. These were the first portable sewing machines.
  
  

Motorized Machines

• While electric sewing machines were offered from 1905 onward, they became a more popular choice after the World War I. Buyers could choose from a motorized, treadle or hand cranked machine, depending up their needs and budget.
  
  

Singer Featherweight

• Perhaps the most popular vintage machine today is the Singer 221, or Singer Featherweight. This lightweight vintage machine sews a lovely straight stitch, is small and portable, and is favored by quilters around the world today.
  
  

Zigzag Sewing Machines

• By the 1950s, sewing machine companies were offering machines that could stitch a variety of stitches, including zigzag and pattern stitches. Some of these machines used stitch cams, while others came with a variety of stitches controlled by knobs or dials on the machine.