Hi there, Purl. I’ve just finished 2 book reports in sizes 2 and 3, and found them pretty straightforward. Loops were a bit of a hassle. But everyone thinks they really add something so will stick with them.
Re: pockets. Instructions for both pockets are the same – I know the instructions make it sound different but not. As you know, pockets are attached with 3/8″ seam between dots. I zigzaged (triple zig zag because I find it sits flatter when finishing seams) both pocket seam allowance and dress front seam allowance together. Then I trimmed carefully between dots so that I didn’t interfere with the wider seam allowance (1/2″) needed to attach skirt front to top front and around the pockets – per instructions. Then I zig zaged the wider allowance along skirt skirt pivoting at pockets, going around them, back to skirt front seam allowance. I.E you don’t finish pockets between dots again otherwise you’ll sew them closed. But I’m sure you worked that out already. Finding the right zig zag stitch requires testing on scraps. I have to do this a lot on my Janome because every fabric’s different. But as I said, I like the triple zzg as it sits flatter.
Hope this helps, I appreciate your frustration.
