on most of the machines I have with documentation the "dress guard" or "skirt guard" refers to the cast iron portion that covers the large drive wheel. Granted, they are all from the 1800's, but....

So glad you asked! I was wondering, too.

Thanks for the clarification Steve. I was thinking "dress guard" for the shelf. No matter the name though the intended purpose is to protect the person and floor from oil drips.
Rodney

I found an older cabinet that worked for my New Home that did not have this and found that this thin little board served 2 purposes. It also keeps critter hairs out, I have replaced that board.

Thanks for all the replies. They were very enlightening!!

I missed the "hairs" part and read it as "also keeps critters out"....which, in my multi-cat household, is a legitimate concern! LOL

Hmm - I've always refereed to them as dust covers, and if you live on a dirt road and your house gets dusty, they really do help to keep that dust from getting up on the machine while it's put away.

All my treadles have something like that, and most of my other cabinets do too.

Like SteveH, I have always heard the Skirt Guard refer to the cast iron part that covers the edge of the flywheel on the treadle, so your skirt can't get caught between the belt and large wheel. Sort of like a chain guard on your bike that helps to keep your pant leg from getting caught in the chain - Some of us are old enough to remember dealing with bell-bottoms and bicycles!

So glad you asked this. Few weeks ago when I got this Kenmore 158.9411 we couldn't remove it from the cabinet.
Eventually hubby broke off the plastic skirt cover when we were then able to see the 2 silver button screws to loosen and remove it. First part was accidental breakage then he pulled the whole brown piece off. I didn't think it was important at the time.
Still don't have machine doing zigzag.

mine would be for spiders to sit and spin their webs....or dust bunny to stay