I absolutely understand your narrative about how this is done, and I am totally in agreement with what you said. However, you were right when you said, they usually mark it as half a pattern, and you buy two separate pieces. This however, was not marked that way. They DID have the cut lines, so they did cut it apart correctly, but EACH section was priced individually. Why not just sell you the two pieces like you said for a set price?? I would have understood that much better then saying, 1/2 is 16.99. Double that to make a skirt. I would have agreed with the cost of 33.98...IF it had SAID that. I was under the assumption that the price was for 2 sections and was corrected at the counter. Maybe THEY did it wrong, and it should have been the two sections for the 16.99. Lesson learned. See, who says a 65 year old lady can't learn something new. Thank you for your comment, and I love seeing the manufacturing of the fabric. Have been to the Pendelton Mills outside of Portland Oregon and it is fascinating to watch. I know that professionals in shops are much more attentive to quilters needs and wants. This skirt was on a whim.