Sounds like you wired it backwards - got the foot pedal on the plug end and the plug on the footpedal end. The reason you footpedal cord was so short was because it would have been mounted in a cabinet, and it only needed to reach the side of the cabinet, not the floor. that is also the reason you'll find so many machines with the cord to the pedal cut off - it was easier to do that than to unwire the pedal to remove it from the cabinet. BTW - if the pedal was hard wired, you can simply remove that and then use a double plug with the cord and footpedal in one.