Abstract: A skeletal frame sewing machine construction in which stitch forming instrumentalities supported on the skeletal frame are brought into cooperative relation by a combination of positioned adjustments of the instrumentalities on the skeletal frame and the influence of selective compensating forces developed between the skeletal frame and exterior casing parts.

Abstract: A hand-held single-thread lockstitch sewing machine or stitcher for attaching buttons, snaps, bar tacks, or the like, employs a boat-type shuttle for capturing the loop thrown by the needle. A limited length of bottom thread is stored by manually positioning a lever which directs the loop over a finger-like projection in the shuttle to trap the loop. Repositioning the lever will allow the machine to sew normally with the loop passing around the shuttle and picking up the stored thread. Bottom tension is applied by magnetically attracting the shuttle to the carrier wall and passing the bottom thread between the shuttle and the carrier wall.