[Advice Needed] - Quick Method for Taking In a Lined Skirt

A lady friend has gone from size 22W to 18W and wants her lined skirts (11 items), with side zippers, taken in. It's agreeable to remove the unused pockets.

I'd appreicate advice on how to quickly take in a skirt, which require a significant amount of material being removed, without having to disassemble the skirt (i.e., removing the waistband, ripping out the seams, removing a strip of fabric, resewing).. The challenge is how to quickly do this as so that the finished skirt still looks good.

Typically I need to decrease the circumference about 2.5" to 5".

Some possibilities are:

1. Enlarging/increasing the no. of darts; 2. Adding and/or converting darts to pleats; 3. Cut through the waistband, above the seam, take in the seam (fabrice & lining) and then neatly splice the waistband; 4. Remove the waistband, open seam opposite zipper, cut away strip of fabric/lining, shorten waistband, resew, etc.; 5. Other (?).

Each method, however, has its drawbacks.

How would you tackle this task to minimize the time involved?

Is she loosing more weight on tummy or hips? Is her side hip curve changing substantially?

In a soft fabric is it possible to thread elastic through the waistband, making a slightly gathered skirt?

If these are straight skirts in suiting fabric, how about creating a center back seam with kick pleat?

1. Cut skirt down center back to top of kickpleat plus seam allowance. If necessary, open waistband a few inches on either side to separate lining from skirt fabric.
2. In skirt fabric, stitch a center back seam from waist to kick pleat, then horizontally across top of pleat. Cut away excess fabric. Press pleat in place.
3. In lining, cut straight down to hem, making slit opening.

Judy Arndt