My guess is she didn't know what she was doing.
Just bind it normally and be done. I don't think I'd worry about what the original person had as an intent because unless you know what kind of a seamstress she was, you don't really know if it is something that SHOULD be followed.
It's really sweet of you to finish this. My husband always says that it is easier to repair something from scratch than take over after someone else has started to repair something (think mechanic, here, okay) and then given up.