Week 24: Lavender Bottles

Last week when I was staying with my Granny, she was asking if I had taught my friends how to make lavender bottles, a lovely old English craft. I sheepishly had to confess that this was a skill which I had yet to share. So this weekend, whilst at home, we set about making some to demonstrate and I would love to share with you what we did.

How to make Lavender Bottles

Lavender is a natural moth repellent, so they are great to keep hung up in wardrobes or in drawers filled with clothes. Lavender is also very relaxing so they could also be used underneath a pillow when rest seems hard to come by.

What you will need

Scissors to trim the lavender stems

11 stems of lavender, cut about 8 inches long

About 1 metre of ribbon

Method 

1. Wait until the lavender has begun to open it’s pretty flowers. Then cut off an odd number of stems, we cut 11 of them but you could do more or less if you wanted a larger or smaller bottle. About 6 inches long will be enough to make a bottle with.

 

2. When the stems have been cut, peel off and compost the leaves which are left on the stem.

 

3. The stems should then look something like this…

(Ideally with a faithful dog to watch over whilst these are made : )

 

 

4. Roughly measure out 1 metre of ribbon (ideally fabric ribbon). Tie all the stems together, leaving a short piece of ribbon on one side of the knot that can easily be woven in. Move the knot up to just underneath the lavender flowers.

 

5. Begin to bend all the stems of the lavender down over the top of the flowers. Do this gently  as the stems may snap if not done with care. If they do snap, it is ok as the other stems will still hold the lavender in place.

 

6.Begin to weave the ribbon over and then under each of the stems which have been pulled down. Keep weaving around and around.

 

7. Your lavender bottle will begin to look something like this. Make sure that you pull on the ribbon each time so that the small flowers stay as much as possible inside the bottle.

 

8. Tie off the ribbon at the end of the lavender bottle, I like to make a little bow but a simple knot will do.  Leave in the sun or on the window sill to dry. When dry place it in your wardrobe, under your pillow or in your drawer. When the bottle begins to loose it’s scent, give it a good squeeze and continue using.

 

I hope you might give them a try!