Refashioning: Making Clothing More Functional - Dress into a Skirt (Method 3)

I have done two "Dresses into Skirts" blogs using two different methods. (You can find them here and a NO SEW method here.) Today, I am going to show you a third method. 

I did it with the sleeveless dress below. This dress makes me think of the Portlandia sketch, "Put a Bird on It!"

Okay, so up close we can see a waste band that is similar to the "No Sew" waistband from my prior blog post, with one significant difference. The "finished" portion, instead of being at the top of the waistband, is actually at the bottom of the waist band. That means if we want a finished edge, we will have to cut off the skirt portion and wear the bodice as a top. Well, the bodice is the part that I'm not thrilled about, so this post is about how to make a dress with this particular waistband situation into a skirt.

I got out my trusty pinking shears and cut above the waistband and into the bodice about 2 inches or so. I wasn't careful, because this part doesn't matter. I just needed to remove most of the bodice.

So then, what I did was to fold the 2" portion to the inside. This is looking at it from the front. . .

. . .and this is looking at it from the back.

With the 2" seam folded to the back, I tacked the waistband down with the needle sticking into the fabric. I used a straight stitch.

Then, I gently pulled the elastic flat and continued stitching in the ditch just under the elastic.

When, I was done, my stitches were almost invisible. . .to the untrained eye. . .

I didn't bother trimming the excess off, but you can if you want. I suggest using pinking shears so you don't have to worry about the fabric fraying.

The End!