Making Herbal Sachets For Yourself Or Gifts

Herbal Sachets For Yourself, Gifts Or Gift Baskets

These are very easy to make, attractive and they smell great. You can use them in closets, drawers, or depending on the material you use for them, as an attractive, good-smelling addition to your home.
 
For use in drawers, I usually use the very inexpensive muslin bags, that come with a drawstring. Just filling them and placing them inside of your drawers, between clothing, helps to keep your belongings smelling nice and fresh. Also, there are herbs (lavender comes to mind), that are mold and mildew as well as moth repellents.
For a fairly small attractive bag, or several, you can make them easily enough by taking calico cloth in various patterns and remember, a little bit of material will go a long ways.

You'll only need 1/4 of a yard or so, of a few nice-patterned pieces and you'll have yourself quite a few sachet bags once they're made. Take your fabric (you don't have to use calico, though anything cotton will breathe and release scent), and cut rectangles that are about 4" x 6" (or for a larger bag, go 6"x7-8"), stitch together and leave the top open, but stitch around the top so that you can get a matching ribbon draw-string in. Fill with herbs and draw tightly closed, then tie shut.

Fillings:

Mixtures of these herbs will not only smell nice, but will repel bugs, molds and germs:

Lavender
Sage
Chamomile
Rose (flower and/or bud)

For a fresher scent try:

Peppermint
Spearmint
Sage
Orange Peel, grated
Lemon Peel, grated

You can mix these together in a bowl and make enough for several bags. What I usually do is mix them, then add essential oils of the same scents - then put into glass canning jars, seal up and let them sit (usually for a couple months at least), then I know that the oils are absorbed, but the scent will hold. I fill the sachets with both the herbs and oils and they not only smell better - they last longer.

There are many combinations you can use - it all depends on what you like. Some other suggestions are:

Basil (spicy and sweet)
Fennel Seed (licorace-type scent)
Patchouli Herb (almost a musky scent)
Marjoram (sweet)
Cinnamon Sticks (1"-3")
Cloves (whole)
Rosemary

If you make them ahead and wish to use them for gifts or in gift baskets on the holidays, you can easily store them in any glass container, which will keep them fresh-smelling and ready for anytime you need one. Get the largest glass container you can find with a lid for it and just place the already-made sachets inside and close them up. Keep them closed until you're ready to use them and reclose them back up if you have some left. They'll pretty much keep that way indefinitely and they make a great gift on their own or as part of a basket of homemade things.
 
I've made lots of these and people always like them and I've been asked if I could make a couple or so more for several friends. As I tend to keep extras onhand, I tend to already have them all made up.

Also, the more you work with herbs and/or essential oils, the more blends you'll come up with yourself. Questions? Ask - anytime.

mn - 2008