Okay, I'm with you on this, clothing patterns are difficult to read sometimes. I had a home ec teacher in high school that said, if you want to do something (that the pattern doesn't specify) and you're not sure if it'll work, just ask yourself "why won't it work" and if you can't come up with anything, try it. Its actually worked for me for several things, and sometimes in quilting too. tee hee
Good Luck!!!