Dress to skirt refashion.

I had this dress sitting in my closet for a couple of years now. It fit well when I bought it but now it is too tight. I am going to claim that washing made it shrunk a little (and not in anyway that I am admitting that I gained weight which I probably did.). The color is a pretty blue and the fabric is very soft cotton and is somewhat stretchy.

I laid it out on my bed and then made a cut right under the armpit. 

That way I can give my skirt maximum length possible with the amount of fabric that I have. I like my skirts and dresses either knee length or an inch or two below. Quote from Grace Kelly who disliked very short skirts: "After all, who has pretty knees?". Certainly not me! May be when I was a teenager?
Let me think. Hmm... Nope, not even then. You see I was getting into one scrape after another and if  I remember correctly I barely had any skin left on my knees :-).

The color reminds me of this wall mural that my 12th grade cousin painted on this wall.
Beautiful painting Darren!

In this picture you can see where I made the cut better.

The next step I stitched down the top sides just a little. 

You can see the stitches next to my sewing gauge. The bust area of dresses is wider and when you make this piece into a skirt it needs that width narrowed down a little. The skirt is turned inside out in the below picture. Also you can see those amazing pockets. I love pockets and will go to great lengths to preserve it where ever I can.

Pockets up close as it is barely visible once you wear it. 

Next step - remove the elastic and then stitch any gap this leaves between the top panel and the bottom of the skirt down. 

Taking out the elastic should open up the skirt or lets say give it more flare instead of a more gathered appearance.

Once the elastic is out keep it for your next refashion project.

Then stitch down the top of the skirt down about an inch and a half. At this point you can thread the elastic through this casing or do what I did.

I used a darker colored drawstring and pulled it through the casing.

Both the elastic or the drawstring can be pulled through the casing using a safety pin. I also made a couple of button holes on the front by hand stitching the edges, so I can pull the drawstring tight or loose as I want.

Final product. 

No hemming is needed as we are using the same hem of the dress for this skirt.