Posts Tagged ‘using lavender’

Far and away, the most useful flower in my garden is lavender.  I use it for a number of different projects including Lavender Eye Pillows, Lavender Bottles and Sachets.  I love they way it smells… clean and not too sweet.

Lavender sachets are not just for my lingerie drawer.  A sachet is wonderful in a linen drawer, or even in a desk drawer.  Your stationary will take on the slight scent of lavender.

If you don’t want or have time to sew, a sachet can be made from a lace handkerchief.  Put the lavender in the center of the handkerchief, pull the corners up to the center and tie a ribbon around the bundle.

If you have a small amount of fabric and a couple minutes, it’s easy to sew a sachet bag.  My favorite kind of sachet are ribbon closed bags, because it’s easy to open the bag and refresh the scent by adding a few drops of essential oil.  Or when it gets too old, it’s easy to replace the lavender altogether.

Here’s how to make sachet:

To dry lavender from your garden, cut the stems on a dry morning.  I place rubber band around the base of the stems, then tie a piece of twine in a slip knot around that.  I hang them in a cool dry place (my basement) for several weeks.  Once dry, they are ready to use.

The quickest way I’ve found to remove lavender from stems is to lay the dried lavender on a clean dishtowel.

Fold up the towel and roll it with a rolling pin.

Unroll the towel and discard the stems.  This method doesn’t remove every flower from the stems, but it’s fast and does a good job.  Shake the flowers from the towel into a bowl.

For a sachet, I prefer fabric with 100% natural fibers, such as cotton, linen or silk.  I’ve even cut up old linen bedding for sachets.  (Even when the bedding has some holes, it’s easy to find enough good fabric to make many sachets.

Cut a piece of fabric 11″ x 8″.

Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together.

Using a 1/2 inch seam, stitch along the long side and bottom of the folded fabric.

Fold the top of the fabric down a little more than halfway.  There will be no need to stitch the fold into place, as it will be tucked down inside the bag.  This method makes the top of the sachet very clean.  I’ve made them before with a hem at the top and it looks messy, this method is much better.

Press the top of the fold.

Turn the bag right side out, using a chopstick to make the corners crisp.  Fill with about 3/4 cup of lavender.  You can also substitute other herbs or spices that you love such as: cloves, lemon peel, cedar shavings, or cinnamon sticks that have been crushed.

Tie the top of your sachet with ribbon.

It’s ready for the drawer.  If it stops smelling as strongly, I give it a squeeze, which releases some of the oils.  A lavender sachet in a drawer will last for at least a couple of years…. sometimes longer.

Sachets are a great way to use up your supply of lavender from the garden.  And if, like me, you have a copious amounts of lavender, sew extra sachets and put them away for last minute gifts.

Lavender is one of my favorite “Make it Do” flowers… as useful as it is pretty.  This hardy, easy to grow herb that has been valued for centuries for it’s wonderful scent.  I grow mostly Munstead and Hidcote varieties of lavender in my garden.  And I love the Blue Cushion lavender I have planted in a hedge around my vegetable garden.  Lavender has great color almost the whole summer… and I use it for a variety of projects.

The lavender flower has two parts… the calyx and the corolla.  The calyx colors up first and that’s when I like to harvest lavender for making wreaths and bouquets.  After that the corollas begin to bloom.  You can still harvest your lavender but the open blooms aren’t as pretty when they are dry.  (It is still perfect for making potpourri and sachets.)

One quick project I make every year out of lavender is lavender bottles.  They are so easy even children can make them (with a little help.)  Lavender bottles smell wonderful tucked in drawer or in a closet.

Here’s how to make them:   You will need fresh lavender, about a yard of 3/8 inch ribbon and a hot glue gun.

1.  Start with about 25 stems of fresh cut lavender.  Cut the stems as long as possible.

2.  Starting at the top, just below the buds, run your fingers down each stem to remove any leaves.

3.  Tie the end of 3/8 inch ribbon just below the blooms. (I just work from the spool so I don’t waste any ribbon in the end.)

4.  Fold the stems back over the buds.  (Try to keep them evenly dispersed around the bottle.)

5.  Pull the long end of the ribbon out from between the stems.  (Make sure the short end stays neatly tucked inside.)

6.  Now weave the ribbon in and out like a basket.  I usually weave two or three stems at time.  You can weave in an out every stem if you like.

7. When you get to the bottom of the buds, make sure to pull the ribbon taut.  Then dab the ribbon with hot glue to secure the end and trim.

8. Trim the stems to make them even.

9.  Tie a ribbon in a bow to cover the end of the ribbon.

Lavender bottles are so fragrant and sweet.  I love keeping them in my drawers.  They also make a wonderful homemade gift for a friend.