I decided after much trial and error to try a hand-stitch on the zipper. After breaking a needle and jamming the sewing machine several times, it was really my only option. It turned out to be my best option. It came out very clean and professional looking (pats self on back).

I had to go back and cut away the excess fabric on the inside of the waistband that was left after I added the finishing stitch:

After doing this, I tried the skirt on again. There is a weird curve underneath the waistband now and you can faintly see the seams and darts through the linen fabric. I’m contemplating on lining the skirt. What do you guys recommend? Would releasing the darts a bit underneath the waistband fill out this unwanted curve? Also, what are your thoughts on cutting away the excess fabric where the darts are? Keep in mind that you can only faintly see it and I am probably just being too much of a perfectionist so it may not be worth it.

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!!