I finally get to place the decorative waistband, which is something I have been looking forward to very much. There isn’t a how-to guide for something like this; it just takes some strategic placing and a lot of creativity. To do this, I placed the skirt onto the dress form inside out so the band could be properly pinned to the garment.

After making a few adjustments to the waistband and then trying the garment on, I stay-stitched the band into place. I don’t believe that this was an absolutely necessary step but I didn’t want it to slip out of place (better safe than sorry!).

Normally, I would opt for a machine stitch but the fabric overlapped a few times in the ruffle, which made it extremely thick. My fear was that I would break the machine needle. So, I decided on a simple hand stitch. I am very pleased with how it turned out:

Once the band was stitched into place and the pins were removed, I started to work on finishing the inside of the band. The fabric (as you can see) frays terribly. So, I wanted to use a finishing stitch on the machine to prevent further fraying. Big mistake! My initial fear about using a machine stitch was correct. I broke the needle. Stupidity or a right of passage? I’ll go with a right of passage. I decided to give it a rest for the night after the needle deal breaker…

Tonight, episode 2 of the new season of Project Runway. Can’t wait!!

I finished attaching the waistbands and am pleased with the overall look. There are a few adjustments needed so I decided to make the following changes for the original pattern draft:

- add 1” length to the hem

- fix the seam allowance for the lower back panels

- add a 5/8 seam allowance on the edges that connect the front decorative waistband to the back decorative waistband

- add a little width to decorative waistband (to create a higher waistband)

After making all of these changes, the pattern is finished and ready for the final fabric. I tried the skirt on and it fits like a glove. Very excited to wear it! My next stop will be the fabric store which is one of my favorite parts of the design process. I’m looking for an ivory-colored fabric with a little bit of stretch and a medium thickness (in between tweed and a stretchy cotton). Most likely I will change my mind about the fabric color or texture once I am at the store. We shall see!