Couple of comments...

First, Jenny, thanks and "duh", that answer is so simple.... I'm usually a better home made engineer than this, what an easy fix.

I wanted to update on the BWOF purple skirt where I couldn't figure out the waist. It's from January 2009 #111. Let's fast forward to March 2009 to their dress #102. And includes one of my all time favorite BWOF descriptions: "This dress is captivating – due to its cool art print and the clever details. A pretty belt is held into place by carriers on the empire waist seam, brilliantly running below those three asymmetrically placed soft pleats. It’s not difficult – you'll find an illustrated sewing course in the magazine. " The idea of a belt "Brilliantly Running" anywhere just captivates the imagination (yes, I'm caught up in the Burda-speak). But you you look at the drawings you will see the band is the same on the skirt and the dress. And the dress has the "illustrated sewing course in the magazine". I've looked and the tutorial is pretty good, a least good enough to get the waistband done right. The pictures really help.

Lindsayt: next time you're in the DC area, let me know and we can definitely do G Street. Hopefully it will be a good day at THE WALL and you can go home stash-happy. The one in Falls Church (where I usually go) also has a JoAnn (good for pattern sales) and zippers. And a Michael's. All in all, a very crafty shopping center. And a good brew pub, too.

And finally, a funny (to me) story about sewing machines. I was looking on Ebay last night at a Viking Designer SE. Of course it was in excess of $3k. My son was sitting beside me trying to look like he didn't care about a stupid old sewing machine, but his nonchalance was challenged when he saw it. He asked me why I didn't bid on it. It was "awesome". Mom, it has a computer screen. I've never seen a sewing machine with a computer screen. So I thought this was pretty funny, especially in light of the fact that he's probably only seen about 5 sewing machines ever - including a Singer 201, a Touch n Sew, and my Pfaff. I'm giving him credit for 2 more, but this may not be warranted. In case you're keeping up, the Viking sold for $3075 and I lost by $25 (there were auto bidders, I don't play that game). If the machine is really as stated, someone got a heck of a deal. It came fully loaded including designs, hoops, etc.