Sachet Sashay

sa·chet noun : a small bag that has a mixture of dried flowers and spices inside it and that is used to give a pleasant smell to clothes, sheets, etc

sa·shay verb [informal] : to glide, move, or proceed easily or nonchalantly

One attempts to sashay through life, proceeding easily and nonchalantly along, but it doesn’t always work like that [think swans gliding gracefully along the river- but their little feet paddling like mad under the surface] My little feet – with or without the odd socks – have been paddling away furiously lately.

I was asked to help a friend turn seventy of her daughter’s tiny cross stitch samples into lavender sachets for an autumn Craft Sale. Not having a lot of time I went into production line mode.

I got a pack of nappy liners, cut each into four and machined little bags. Into each bag I put a cotton wool ball, a spoonful of lavender, and a second ball, then machined across the top. Like ‘teabags’

Then I cut the samples into 3” squares, and sewed a piece of printed cotton onto the back of each – three sides on the machine. I put one of my little ‘teabags’ inside, and then hand stitched the opening closed. And now I have a pile of seventy sachets to sashay over to my friend’s house!

And my lounge smells delightful!  Lavender has a very relaxing perfume, don’t you think?

In case you are wondering, I use the teabag method for a number of reasons;

• the nappy liners hold the lavender buds tidily so they don’t come out when I am doing the final handstitching
• the nappy liners also allow the perfume to come through, but absorb any oils which might stain.
• some people I know use small plastic bags and puncture them with pins to allow the scent out – but I feel that plastic can get sweaty and encourage bacteria to grow.
• the cotton wool balls mean the sachets feel softer than if the bags just held the buds – and they also cushion any bits of crackly crushed stalk which are in the mix
• the balls also reduce the amount of lavender needed [and you really don’t need much to get the scent]
• so it is fast, efficient and economical!