Simple Sachets
Mother’s day will be here before you know it. What are you
going to do? The simple sachet is the answer. It is simple, easy to make, and
smells amazing. And, best of all, Mom will love that you made it for her.
With some assistance, this is a craft that school children
can do for significant people in their lives. It is the
sort of craft that families and friends will love, and your classroom will smell wonderful
through to summer as you find all the dried lavender flowers that escaped
during construction.
Lavender is a plant with numerous varietals that grow in a
wide variety of environments. As such, you may be able to find a subspecies
that will grow near you. It has been widely cultivated and used for centuries.
The traditional uses for the plant range widely from cultural, medicinal, and
religious uses through to culinary and cleaning uses. One of my favorite uses
is Lavender Ice Cream, but this blog post is dedicated to the classic Lavender
Sachet.
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| Bundled dried lavender |
Lavender sachets have been used for centuries for their
aroma. They have been tucked into linens and folded into fine lingerie to add a
comforting, clean, feminine aroma to the fabric items. Victorians used lavender wands in addition to or in place of sachets. Some say lavender will
also help repel moths, but I have some doubts about that as I’ve seen how much
my local moth and butterfly population enjoys feeding on my lavender nectar when my plants
are in full bloom.
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| Traditional lavender wands, modern decorative lavender basket |
This sachet is a simple version, so let’s get started. A video version of this project is available on the Mile Wide Crafts YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/uHypFXBmifo
Materials
Fabric square, about 10 inches on a side, woven fabrics or
tulle are best
Ribbon or cord, 10-12 inches long and at least a ½ inch wide
(¼ inch diameter for cord)
Narrow ribbon or cord, 4-8 inches (Less than ¼ inch wide)
Flexible trim, about 20-30 inches
Dried Lavender Buds, 1-2 tablespoons
Needle and Thread
Instructions
Step 1: Cut your
fabric circle
Draw a circle on your fabric. I generally use a circle that
is about 7 inches across. I have a paper template that I use to trace a circle
onto my fabric. However, many household items are circular and would work as a
template. Many luncheon plates, for example, are about this size, as are many
mixing bowls.
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| Circle traced on an old shirt |
Cut out your circle. If you are using a woven fabric pinking
shears are a good idea so your fabric doesn’t ravel.
If you use tulle, you may want to cut two layers and just
use them together so the lavender buds don’t poke through.
Step 2: Finish
your edge.
There are a few options here. If you’ve used pinking shears,
you may not need to do anything else. Similarly, if you are using tulle, you
may not need to do anything to stabilize the edge.
If you have used woven fabric and haven’t used pinking
shears, you have a few other options.
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| Zigzagged circle on the left, pinked circle on the right |
You could use a product like fray-check or white glue on the
edge to keep it from raveling. If you are working with small children who are
gluing the trim on to the edge, the white glue should keep the edge stable.
You could cut out a second circle, and use a turn and
topstitch method. If you do this, make sure the fabric you use is no heavier
than shirt weight or quilting cotton as you want the lavender scent to come
through easily.
The method I generally use, though, is to zigzag around the
edge using a fairly small stitch. If you have a serger, this is a good place to
use it.
Step 3: Trim the
edge
There are a wide variety of trims available on the market.
Many will work for this project. The most important thing is to find a trim
that is flexible enough to go around the circumference of the circle without rippling.
Rickrack is very good for this. If you have a pretty finished edge, strings of
seed beads or imitation seed beads could also work.
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| Trim sewn to the edge and the gathering stitches added |
Attach the trim around the edge of the fabric circle. If you
are working with small children, they could use glue to attach the trim. Older
children might be able to sew it on.
If you have chosen to use a turn and topstitch method to
finish the edge in step 2, you could incorporate the trim into the topstitching
step. Alternatively, you could skip the trim and just use a decorative edge
stitch as your top stitching method.
When I do this project I machine sew the trim to the edge of
the fabric, covering the zigzag stitching.
Step 4: Knot the
ribbon
The ribbon is held in place in the project by a chunky knot.
Any knot that is chunky enough to be at least twice the diameter of the cord or
ribbon should work. For example, two overhand knots, one tied around the other
would work. A figure eight knot would also work.
With cord, I recommend using a cord end type of knot like a
crown knot, a monkey fist knot, or something similar. These knots may require
more than the 12 inches of length mentioned, depending on the knot and the
diameter of the cord used.
I generally use a wide ribbon and a figure eight knot.
Step 5: Gather
the circle into a pouch
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| Pull the gathering threads to form a pouch |
About one inch in from the edge of the fabric circle, run a
line or two of gathering stitches.
This is one of the steps where young children might need
some help. If the children are able, they might be able to use embroidery
thread and a tapestry needle to run a line of running stitches through tulle.
For older children or adults, run a line of running stitches
around the circle, one inch in from the outer edge. This can be done by hand or
by machine, using long stitches.
Pull the stitches until a pouch begins to form, but DO NOT
close the pouch yet. You may wish to leave the thread ends on the outside/right
side of the pouch.
Step 6: Fill the
pouch
Place the knotted end of the ribbon from step 4 into the
bottom of the pouch.
Carefully pour the dried lavender buds into the pouch on top
of and around the knotted ribbon. Don’t fill the pouch all the way up to the
stitching as you will need to be able to close the pouch. Fill it about ¾ of
the way. The amount of flower buds needed will use depends on the fabric
choice, the size of the original circle, and the distant the gathering stitches
are from the edge. Most sachets will take 1-2 tablespoons of dried buds.
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| Pouch filled with the ribbon and buds |
A funnel can make your life easier here, but the buds will
need to be added slowly so the funnel isn’t clogged.
Step 7: Finishing
the sachet
Pull the gathering stitches until the pouch is closed
tightly, making sure to enclose the knotted end of the ribbon. Tie off the long
ends of the thread to keep the pouch closed and trim the threads close to the
knot.
Use the narrow decorative ribbon to create a decorative
closure around the top of the pouch and finish with a bow. Glue may be used to
keep the bow in place.
If a decorative cord is used, it may be stitched or glued
into place. A few small sprigs of dried lavender make a decorative covering for
the ends of cords. However, buttons, beads or gemstones are also pretty
options.
When I make these, I pull the gathering threads to the
outside of the fabric and use the long tails of the gathered thread to wrap
around the top of the pouch for added security under the decorative cord or
ribbon.
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| Completed Sachets with a variety of finishing options |
As always, if you have questions about this project, LOVE
it, or just want to give feedback, please leave a comment below.
Happy Crafting!
