Skirt Refashion: Rainbow skirt gets a makeover

I hadn't worn this skirt for a few weeks and I've realised that I don't want to wear it to work like this anymore. I'm tending towards the clothes with more defined lines and shape and, though I still love the colours in this, I'm going for a different look for myself.

I could retire it to everyday wear, but I have a lot of those clothes already. So I thought I could refashion it, change the shape and slim it down, to make it look totally different.
This is the skirt as it is now. I made a giant square, eventually rounded the points off, and cut a hole in the middle for it to go around my waist.
Well, slightly more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

It's a lot of fabric. And an elastic waistband that has stretched that I want to unpick. That will be the first step, and it shouldn't take much. 

The zip isn't fastened to the waistband, as I put it in first. So there is a zip to deal with,  but I plan to leave it in and work the design around it.

My plan is to use another, straighter skirt as a pattern and cut a new shape out of this one. There will be some leftovers, but I use those on all sorts of things so it doesn't worry me. Better to refashion this and get some more wear out of it, as I do love the colour combination. It was one of the first pieces of Indigenous fabric that I bought myself.
Step 1 - remove waistband.

Step 2 - Unpick the pocket (which was then used to patch another skirt that had ripped).

Step 3 - lay out the skirt and see what I'm working with.

Step 4 - use another skirt as a template and cut around it. To do it properly I should have probably pinned or drawn an outline.. but I just cut it. YOLO

Step 5 - Overlock the edges to seal them.
Step 6  - pin them together and make sure they match.
Step 7 - sew the side seams.

The new waistband was a bit big, but rather than make darts to take it in, I wanted to use elastic for a comfortable fit.
Step 8 - Sew a tube of ribbon on to feed elastic through.

Step 9 - feed the elastic through and stitch the ends in place. By putting it through a tube, I can easily replace it when it wears out. 

The elastic gathers the front of the skirt very nicely, and makes it fitted but flattering.

Finished product: the back. I like how the hem turned out asymmetrical - complete unplanned.

And the front! Now it shows some leg 😄

#lovelypennypatterns