KS 2788I managed to use up 3 yards of fabric so far in cutting. Adding the 5.75 inches to the waistband made a big difference. The waist band was too wide to cut on the fold. I omitted the pockets on this skirt. It's easier to fit without pockets. I serge finished the center front edges and centerback edges before sewing the fronts and back together. I don't have a brown 9 inch zipper in my zipper stash. Which reminds me, only buy a zipper grab-bag if you have need of a lot of really short zippers in odd colors, like orange. I decided to work on the back vent, since I couldn't finish the front. The instructions told you to do the darts after sewing the 2 backs together. That doesn't make any sense to me. The smaller the piece of fabric, the easier it is to handle. I sewed my darts in before sewing the backs together.