First and foremost... Happy Self-Care Sewing anniversary, Pattern Revolution!

It's hard to believe it was just a year ago when the captains of this here blog invited me to start sewing for myself. I'm sure I would have dabbled in SCS eventually, but I certainly wouldn't have pushed myself quite as much or as quickly as I did during my intro-to-women's-sewing series, $50 Fashion.

I learned SO much in my first month sewing for myself, and vowed to share everything - feats and follies - with you all. But rather than rehash that now (you can click the link above to play catch-up!) I thought I'd start this month's self-care-sewing series off with a little "Where are they now?"

Well.. for starters, I joined fellow Pattern Revolution-ary and SCS advocate Suzanne Winter in a women's sewing contest over at Skirt Fixation.... and WON. Whaaaatt?? You'd have to see the awesome talent we were up against to understand just how flattered and surprised we were!

Then I started chipping away at SCS-ing one fear at a time... Invisible zippers, swimsuits, and pattern modifications (like this nursing top, or this fun sequins project). These past few months I've even developed a love for JACKETS (lots, and lots of jackets. Just ask my instagram.) And pleather! And ALL the pattern hacks Anthropologie and Pinterest can inspire, even to the point of drafting complete pattern pieces myself! (More on that next week...I think you're gonna love it!) Here's a peek at a few recent hacks I made:

Jocole Skater Dress + Cutout

Jalie One Piece Swimsuit

Jocole A-Line Maxi & WWD Parisian Nights Top Mash-Up

Jalie One Piece Swimsuit + LLK Petal Perfect Skirt

So what have I learned in the last year - about sewing, and myself?

My favorite thing in the whole wide world is hacking patterns. My least favorite thing in the world is printing/taping/cutting out patterns. It's chicken or the egg there... did I learn to hack in a desperate attempt to avoid printing new patterns? Or am I a hacker at heart who found a way to save paper? Probably a bit of both!
Some things I will always, always do the hard way. Like that "always sew a muslin first" lesson I learn again pretty much every week... It took me a year of wasting delightful, expensive apparel fabric before I bought a bold of muslin (...just this week).
Some things I will always, always do the easy way. Yoga waistbands are pretty much the greatest perk available to any self-care-sewist ever. You can't convince me that an elastic casing is better.
I'm a serger snob. I maintain that you can sew anything for yourself without one, but all those clothes I made pre-serger? ...You can find them at the local GoodWill, because I won't wear them.
More is NOT More. Otherwise known as "I totally ran out of room." Ordering twice the yardage for women's projects (as opposed to those for my 3 year old) meant I used up my storage space twice as quickly... and paid twice as much to do it. Combine this with my hard-learned muslin lesson, and there is no way I came out saving money on my 2014 wardrobe. I am on fabric freeze until I get more room, or win the lottery, and I don't see either of those happening anytime soon! Hi, I'm Becca, and I'm Fabric sober 1 month and 6 days. (That bolt of muslin doesn't count right? It's not even purdy...)
I won't go back. SCSing is an addiction. Clothes that fit you perfect, in fabrics you LOVE, that you can whip up whenever you need them?? Plus, if you have the Jocole Quick Dress you can pretty much make 75% of women's attire available in the stores - so why wouldn't you make them for less??

I'll leave you with photos of just one of the many head-to-toe looks I'll use to lure you to your own Self Care Sewing addiction! Stay tuned throughout February! I'll cover my top 10 picks of women's patterns to get your wardrobe started, how to style them, and inspire your projects with my 2015 fashion trend forecast! I hope you'll sew along with me :)