I used to put myself in the "old-dog-no-new-tricks" category, until I realized how much fun it is to open your mind to new experiences. Even when you've had a job or hobby for years and years (and years), there's always something interesting to find out about. I now proudly consider myself in the "new-puppy-lots-to-learn" category, and I'm tail-waggin' excited to share it all with YOU! In honor of the lazy, days of summer, we have a special series this week called S4H Summer School. Over the next few days, we'll Learn, Sew, Shop, Share and Win. You get a virtual doggie treat for every new idea you pick up. Before you grumble about learnin' while the sun shines, did you know summer vacation hasn't been around forever? Our modern summer break didn't take hold until the early 20th century. In the decades before the Civil War, rural students went to school only during summer and winter terms, leaving spring open for planting and fall available for harvesting. In the cities, urban kids studied as much as 48 weeks a year. Of course, education wasn't compulsory back then, so some surveys estimate as few as 30% of enrolled students actually attended year-round. S4H Summer School isn't compulsory either... but it is fun. 

Last week in our Michael Miller Cotton Couture series, we showed you how to make a beautiful Queen Color Block Duvet, which featured a row of buttons as its closure. This week, we have a shabby chic ombre apron in Cotton Couture that features eleven decorative and functional buttons. We know you start rolling your eyes when you think about having to break out the needle and thread to sew on button after button. For some reason, button-sewing is stuck in our psyche as a dreaded, time-consuming task. We’re here to tell you it’s not true! Read on to learn our favorite, super speedy five-step process to perfect buttons.

In home décor sewing, there are lots of squares and rectangles. Pillows, placemats, curtain panels... nice flat shapes with plenty of good ol' right angles. But, if life didn't throw us a few curves, it wouldn't be a very interesting journey now would it?! Tomorrow, as part of the Michael Miller Cotton Couture Color Block series, we'll show you how to make a bolster. Bolsters, my S4H friends, have curves. You may feel a little apprehensive about learning to sew curves, thinking you’re happy with all things square. But learning to bend those right angles is a necessary part of sewing, and opens up new, fun possibilities. With our help, it's easy to do too! 

Pleats are the origami of the sewing world. And although you don't usually need to fold one into the shape of a swan, there are a wide variety of pretty pleats that add distinct visual and textural embellishments for both home décor as well as garment sewing. Each type provides a different look based on how it's formed. You can make: knife pleats, knife pleats in two directions, box pleats, inverted box pleats, inverted box pleats with a separate underlay, accordion pleats, sunray pleats, and wave pleats. In this tutorial, we're focusing on a box pleat and its identical yet opposite cousin, the inverted box pleat. We'll address knife pleats later this week and some of the more specialized pleats in the near future.