T H I M B E R L I N A

Sunday Sevens 9th May

I’ve been on annual leave this week so caught up on with a few jobs outside, and played golf. Now lockdown restrictions are relaxed I’m not sure if I’m...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens 2nd May

Brrrrr…. I’m feeling cold writing this. The April showers that came last week are continuing into May have made the lovely weather that we had in early April seem...

Active Wear, Dresses, Front Page, Golf, Indie Pattern, Sewing Challenges, Summer wear

The Mary Quant Style Dress

Wonky pockets! No one noticed them when I posted a Reel on my insta. I think they were distracted by my groovy moves! If you’re not an insta fan...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens 25th April ish

WARNING! Don’t read this if you’re hungry. There’s quite a few foodie pics this week. They’re not very exciting, well the cake it, it was bloody lovely! Another week...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens 18th April ish

What a gorgeous week! The weather has been kind to us here in the UK and I’ve been making the most of it, in between working. I’ve been on...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens 11th April ’21

3 weeks in a row! Crikey! Even I’m shocked! When I stopped blogging so much (almost 4 years ago) it coincided with me & Craig splitting up, and I...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Easter Week Sunday Sevens

I’ve just enjoyed a week’s annual leave – how lucky was I that it coincided with some lockdown restrictions being lifted – including opening up the golf courses, and...

Front Page, Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens 2021 – Bumper Edition!

Do I mention I’ve missed a few ? No….. life just goes at such a crazy speed sometimes, there’s no need to make up excuses. I’m not promising this...

Free Sewing lessons, Front Page, The Fabric First Aider, Zoom Sewcials, Zoom workshops

Being Sewcial Through Lockdown

Front Page, Inspiration, My Sewing Space, My Stash, The Stash

Ali’s Been Busy!

A lot has happened since I last posted…… I’ve been on the telly for one! But that’s another story! I’ll tell you all about that shortly – I kept...

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Outer Wear, Pattern Hacks, Tutorials

A Sewing Room Miracle

Some things just never go to plan. When they don’t go to plan in the sewing room, but the creative juices are flowing, a sewing room miracle can happen....

Front Page, Shirts, Tops, vogue

The Thea Boho Sleeve Shirt

It’s taken a crazy shirt to get my fingers flying across the keyboard and to get me to update my blog! It feels good to be back, I just...

Dresses, Front Page, Loungewear, Skirts, Summer wear, Things for the home

What I’ve been making during my absence

Vogue 8903 Mc Calls 7542 Burda 6626 Vogue 1449 Vogue 1411 Sexy Lounge Pants! Vogue 8888 Yasmin Yoke skirt by Maria Denmark Vogue 8888 A Huge Granny Square More...

Dresses, Front Page

Another Day At The Races M6612

Before I ramble on and tell you about yet another McCalls 6612 I just need to say this flurry of blog posts isn’t due to me being in the...

Front Page, Jumpsuits, Pattern Hacks, Sew Up North, Summer wear

Fankenpattern to the Races – Newlook 6648 and 6730

For the last few years we’ve been invited to Ripon races and I’ve always made a new dress for the occasion. This year I almost deviated from wearing handmade...

Front Page, Tops

Hacking McCalls 6612 – 3 very different Tops

Following on from the success of my Little Red Dress I decided to use the sleeves I’d cut out but not used, and some double knit jersey from my...

Dresses, Front Page, Summer wear

The Little Red Dress – McCalls 6612

Back in June 2013 I bought a dress pattern which changed my life. It was the Mcalls 6612 dress and tunic. I made it up in a size 14...

Front Page, GBSB, Let's Get Sewcial, Meet Ups, Tops

#GBSBLIVE 2017 & The Japanese Asymmetrical Top

The Great British Sewing Bee Live was fabulous and just what the doctor ordered! I’ve been AWOL for the past few weeks, I won’t go into detail but I’m...

Front Page, Inspiration, Refashioning, Slimming World

Refitting My Favourites after My #SlimmingWorldSuccess

Back in June 2013 I dusted off my sewing machine and sent my then 22 year old overlocker off for its’ first service. I made a dress in a...

Dresses, Front Page, Summer wear

On The Ball! Simplicity 1613

Being on the ball is not usually my forté but since my trip to the recent SewUpNorth meet up I’ve actually used 2 pieces of fabric I acquired at...

Front Page, Summer wear, Tops, vogue

Vogue 9242 – My Favourite Summer Top

I made this on trend top using Vogue 9242 and a blush pink cotton lawn from Minerva Crafts. I’ve written a guest post over at Minerva if you’d like...

Front Page, Jumpsuits, Summer wear

McCalls 7577 – A playsuit with frilly legs!

Back in February I joined Slimming World. I’d lost about 10 pounds on my own, well not entirely on my own, I’d been hitting the gym classes with my...

Front Page, Golf, Refashioning, Summer wear, Tops

A Quick Polo Shirt Refashion

I think MeMadeMay spurs us all into action and opens our eyes to gaps in our wardrobe. Last week I was wondering what I could wear for golf, then...

Front Page, Skirts, The Big 4

Simplicity 1783 – A Cynthia Rowley Pattern

I know there’s a lot of Cynthia Fans out there and I’m quickly becoming one! Here’s 1873 Last year I made the top from this pattern, you might remember...

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Jumpers, Tops, Tutorials

Molly Top Hack #SOICITYBREAK

I’d say the majority of the fabric in my stash is in 1-1.5m lengths. As I’m very lucky and surrounded by lots of real life fabric stores I tend...

Dresses, Front Page, Indie Pattern, Pattern Hacks

The Cold Shoulder – Lekala 5669

I was browsing through the Lekala website a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across this little on-trend beauty! Lekala 5669….. I just fell for it straight away –...

Front Page, Outer Wear, The Big 4

My First Pattern by Gertie – Butterick 6390

Back in September I attended my first proper meet up – Sewbrum. I had an amazing day and met some fabulous ladies. Sitting down for lunch outside a pub with...

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Jumpsuits

BHL Holly Jumpsuit – No excuses needed this time

Last year I made a Holly Jumpsuit in the name of frivolity, also known as Jumping Into June. This time I didn’t need an excuse. I’d been given a...

Active Wear, Front Page, Indie Pattern, Loungewear, Pants

Do Not Adjust Your Screen – Espresso Leggings

They really are that bright!! This colourful fabric, an ITY knit, has been illuminating my stash for over a year. As my gym joining experience has continued and not...

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Tops

Good Golly Miss Molly

Does Molly need any introduction? I don’t think so. There’s Molly Tops everywhere, all over the internet, and probably in a city near you. It’s part of Sew Over...

Dresses, Front Page, Pattern Hacks, The Big 4, vogue

The BIG Vintage Sewalong – Vogue 9082 & Sonja Dress Hack

What do you do when you’re too excited to sit still and watch TV, not that I’m good at sitting still anyway?! Well, for me I’m going to drink...

Front Page, Golf, Indie Pattern, Pants, Summer wear

Getting busy with Belize from Itch-To-Stitch

Itch To Stitch has just released their latest pattern – the Belize skort and shorts. She was asking for pattern testers not so long ago and I would have loved...

Dresses, Front Page, The Big 4, vogue

The Big Vintage Sewalong – Vogue 9082

There’s nothing quite like a challenge to get the sewing and blogging juices flowing. More so when it’s raising money for a very worthy charity. This year for the...

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Shirts, Tops

Grainline Archer – At last!

One of the first things I lusted over noticed everywhere when I discovered sewing blogs was the Grainline Archer. They really were everywhere and I really wanted one. I’m...

Dresses, Front Page, Indie Pattern

The Colette Wren at The Yorkshire White Rose Awards

On Monday we attended the White Rose Awards at the Leeds Arena. It is the largest celebration of tourism excellence in the UK. The dress code was black tie....

Front Page, Indie Pattern, Outer Wear

Mum does a runner with my New Victoria Blazer

I’ve spent most of the weekend making my 2nd Victoria Blazer from By Hand London. (Link added in case by some crazy chance you’ve not heard of those talented...