Corduroy Skirt: A-line with Welt Pockets

When I KonMari'd my wardrobe, I reduced my skirt collection to only the ones I loved, which all happened to be wool pencil skirts and a-line skirts.  So... now that summer is here, I need something a bit lighter.  Digging through my stash, I find some light brown corduroy already cut (but someone else not me) into two A-line skirt panels.  I decide to sew them together and make a quick skirt.  Then I decide to add pockets first... and make the skirt high-waisted (which requires some stabilization at the front), and the next thing I know the thing ends up taking two days instead of one night of work.  Here are some finished pictures and notes, but not a whole project diary. 

INTERIOR

• Pockets hang straight from the top of their welt openings, and then curve sideways and are incorporated into the side seams.  This way they do not flap around inside my skirt when I walk, and if I put something in them, that something will roll to the outside of my leg instead of bunching in the crotch area.  (I learned this lesson in pocket engineering from my almost-perfect plaid skirt!)
  
• The pocket lining (retro-looking quilting cotton) is also used for the facing at the top.  The skirt has side seams, but the facing is one long strip, so that there are no side seams to pile up on top of the corduroy and add bulk. 
  

• Looking closer at the facing, we see that it's not just quilting cotton-- it is stabilized all the way around with a grosgrain ribbon, and further stabilized over the stomach with two layers of old-screen door (fiberglass mesh of some sort?).  The extra stability over the belly is so that when I bend forward or move around, the front of the skirt doesn't crumple up: 
  

Inside the facing over the belly.

• The hem is done with hem tape, machine sewn to the corduroy, then turned up and hand-stitched.  I love the look of hem tape; so finished. 
  

EXTERIOR

The socks I was wearing that day DENTED my legs! :0

• To get the high-waisted look, I position the skirt (inside out) at the place I want it on my belly, then pin the side seams to fit.  I sew the side seams several times until they are right.
  
• I toy with the idea of a skinny belt made with the same contrast fabric, but my friend says no: that the horizontal line of a belt would detract from the tall slim look. 
  
• I love the pockets! 
  

• The back opening is cut into the fabric, not part of a seam, so I do a double-welt opening there to mirror the pockets. 
  

Back (closed)

Back (open)

• The back ends up needing to be lowered at the waistline, while the front stays high.  It's either that or put vertical darts in the small of my back, and I don't want to because they would be tiny darts and annoying to sew. 
  
• (Maybe I could have lowered the back waistline even more... I still see buckling.)
  
• I later add some hooks and eyes to close the welts over the zipper, and that helps with the buckling, though I'm not sure how.  At any rate, it doesn't look as bad as this picture anymore.