u/Enbies-R-Us

I'm hand-sewing buttonholes for the first time and this paragraph went from 1 to 100 too fast. 💀 I understand the paragraph is talking about the top and bottom hemlines - likely calculating stitch length - for individual buttonholes, but I don't understand where "16 inches" and "8 inches in between" came from? Is it just personal asthetic for stitch length and the 16/8 measurements are just preference?

I do understand that those (16, 8) are markings on the tailor's ruler and guess that the 0 start point on the micromeasurements starts at the squared edge. I can't link the website, but it's historical-tailoring if more context is needed.

I adopted this Pulaski curio cabinet as a restoration project from its past owner. I stripped it down to discover the banding along the top no longer attaches to the curved base, and was tacked down! I'm assuming there was some long term heat and moisture that expanded the band, given there were signs of water damage on the old finish? The band doesn't match the cabinet curve and is too long to fit. The banding sits equal to the edge of the piece on both sides, so somehow the wood lifted outward, gaining a couple of inches?

Is there some (relatively) easy way to tackle this? The only way I can imagine reshaping the band would be detaching it, wetting it and clamping it to a matching call until it fits the curve?