The one I'm using has a foot pedal; I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, but I haven't yet got the steadiness down. I keep trying not to be too hard on the pressure but it won't do anything unless I put more pressure on it than I'd like, and then I startle myself because I feel like it's going too fast. I did in fact screw up the whole thing today (I'm just trying to do straight lines of thread on an old pillowcase) but I figure it'll just take practice.