Today I'll share with you my technique for making lavender sachets. These are the very utilitarian kind that I use for storing my fabrics and threads, and throwing into the dryer to lightly scent the clothes.
I buy empty tea bags online, these are from the Monterey Bay Spice Company, and are pretty inexpensive, only costing $3.20 US for a pack of 50. You can also get a case of 5,000, but that's more than enough for my lifetime, so I stick with the pack of 50.
After filling with a heaping 2/3 cup of lavender buds (OK, 1/2 cup), seal the edge with a hot iron. The ironing board cover is a bit lumpy as it just came out of the dryer (I finally washed the disgusting thing). I grow my own lavender, so there is always plenty of it around. This is English Lavender, which has a very loose bud form and is easy to separate the buds from the stems. Last summer I grew a type of lavender that had a lemon pound cake sort of smell to it. It was absolutely delicious, but it died with all the winter rain we had (lavender likes well drained soil). Next weekend I'll try to find more of this type plant them in the garden.
These bags are made for making tea, not throwing into dryers, so it really helps to sew the sealed opening closed. I found that the presealed sides say put, but not the iron sealed side. And it is so much easier to sew the opening after it has been sealed.
Here is my jar, all filled. (Where's the lid? My DH broke it) Each bag lasts for about five dry cycles, so this batch will last several months, as we have about four to five loads each week. I also have them scattered all around my sewing room to help keep the bugs away, especially with my growing collection of wool threads. I put them in my dresser drawers, in luggage, the linen closet, the (grown) kid's rooms; you get the idea.
When they start looking like this, with little holes opening, throw them out. Otherwise they will come apart in the dryer, and believe me, you don't want that. Many times I have had to stick the slim wand vacuum cleaner attachment all over the dryer and down the vent area to suck up the little lavender pods.
Warning: these are tea bags, so if you do use them for tea, do not overfill. Tea expands exponentially! Can you tell that this advice is from experience?
I love this idea!! And I am comforted by the pretty jars you have your laundry things in. Like someone is in charge who knows what they are doing lives there. I wish I had someone like that here. I love those jars!
ReplyDeleteI've done this with leftover bits of organza. Sending for these tea bags will save a lot of aggravation. I put them between my folded woolens and never have a problem with critters or moths.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just want to reiterate what Jeannie B. said! :)
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