Pacifica

IMG_5268, originally uploaded by JenNZL.

One of the things I really missed about NZ when we were living overseas was the Pacific influence that is so evident here, particularly in Auckland.
Our local emporium sells a lot of very bright pacific prints, which are great for lots of things but a bit loud for clothes for me. This slightly more subtle print made its way home with me, for the princely sum of $2/metre, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The pattern is Burda 8090.
I had my usual fitting issues...if something fits me around the hips, it always gapes at the waist. My friend (who has the same issue) likes to call it "bucket factor" – as in, it makes the top of the garment sit away from the body like a bucket. Kinda the antithesis of "the muffin", which is a fit issue I don't (yet) have.
Anyway, in my usual lazy, half-arsed sewing style, I couldn't be bothered unpicking the facings and fixing the fit properly, so I stitched a channel for a bit of elastic between the two pleats at the back. Works fine and I've actually got quite a lot of wear out of this over the summer.
Bucket vs. Muffin. Hmm...it's kind of like that old saying: "if only Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter had shared the ham sandwich." Wouldn't that be a great way to solve all our fitting dilemmas? "Hi there. I have an excess of bucket-factor that I'm keen to trade for an inch or so of muffin. Please call on *****"