A Little More Lavender and a Free Pattern!

Last week we traveled to Provence to see the amazing fields of lavender, and this week we are going to put that lavender into stitch form with a free pattern! This little circle of lavender can be stitched onto just about anything—a hand towel, an ornament, or a sachet—which is what I (Kara) am going to show you today.

Lets get started!

The first step was gathering my threads. I love it when I can use my Valdani threads, so I chose one of my favorite greens for the stems and then a solid black and a variegated gold for the little bees. It always seems that though you have lots of threads, you don't have the right one for a particular project. That was the case with my purples, so I made one up by using 2 strands of the lighter purple floss and 1 strand of the darker purple. This created the depth in the purple shades that I wanted.

Valdani 12 pearl cotton and Weeks DyeWorks floss

Using the pattern, I traced the circle onto a 4" piece of linen and then drew lines for the lavender. You can just mark the dots for the French knots as they are shown on the pattern. Then I used the green pearl cotton and did a stem stitch around the whole circle and added lazy daisies for the leaves. After that was finished, I added the French knots for the lavender. The bees were made by making a 3-wrap bullion knot using a strand each of gold and yellow threaded together. When you wrap the threads around the needle, wrap them carefully so the two colors alternate, and then pull through. White sewing thread and a lazy daisy stitch make the wings.

Stem stitch

French knots with 1 strand of dark purple, and 2 strands of light purple

Tiny bees!

Once the embroidery was finished,  I cut a 4" square backing piece to match the front. Then I marked a 3.75" circle on both pieces making sure I centered the lavender circle in the middle. When I cut out my circles, I left a 1/4" seam allowance on both. I put right sides together and used the drawn circle on my backing as a stitching guide, making sure I left an opening to turn.

4" squares front and back.

A 3.75" circle is drawn and then cut out with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Use the drawn circle on the backing as your stitching guide.
Leave a space open for turning.

Once I had turned the sachet, I dampened it to remove the blue marker and then let it dry before I stuffed it with the lavender and poly-stuffing. When it was dry, I gave it a bit of a press as the linen likes to wrinkle. I used a funnel and wooden skewer to put the lavender in the sachet. I only used about 4 tablespoons of lavender and then filled it with poly-stuffing until I was pleased with the shape.

I bought the lavender on Amazon for under $10
and should have plenty for more sachets.

I decided I wanted to add a hanger so it could be hung in a closet if needed. I cut a 2" piece of velvet ribbon and inserted the ends in before I stitched the opening closed.

All stuffed and ready to insert the hanger and stitch it closed. 

The finished sachet!

Voila! The sachet is finished! While I made mine as a circle, making a square would work as well. This will make a sweet and functional little gift, and for me it also provides a scented memory of my travels to Provence. 

You can download the pattern below. If you stitch this up, please send us pictures of your finished lavender. We would love to see them!

Lavender Circle Free Pattern

Lovely Lavender

Here in Germany, things are starting to open up after some pretty strong COVID prevention measures. Several countries that border Germany have opened their borders, and my husband and I decided to take advantage of this opportunity by fulfilling one of my bucket list items—seeing the lavender fields of Provence, France. 

Lavender is one of my favorite flowers as it is beautiful, smells good, and as an essential oil, it is good for relaxation, burns, and so many other things. To see it bloom in such abundance was such an inspiration visually for me. Come along as I show you some of the stunning views of Provence, France, as well as a little inspiration from the French Alps.

We began our travels and worked our way through Switzerland, stopping in a tiny village just north of Lake Leman. We stayed at a hotel that was once used by the Templars and pilgrims as a resting place as they made their way to the Holy Land.

As I looked up at the beams, I marveled 
at the fact that pilgrims from the Middle
Ages looked up at the same beams.

The tiny village of La Chaux.

Once we entered the south of France, the lavender fields started popping up and a hint of their fragrance was in the air. It wasn't until our second day in France, that we saw the vastness that is the lavender fields of Provence, and because of COVID, the normal crowds at this time of year were non-existent. Seeing in person what I had only ever seen in pictures, was the highlight of all my adventures here in Europe.

While this flower was pretty, its scent was not!

Provence stole our hearts, not just with the beauty of the lavender, but with the quaint towns and villages that were so clean and picturesque.

This color blue was everywhere!

A lovely old door.

More Provence blue—and I really liked the name of this shop!

Not all the inspiration from Provence was on the outside—our Airbnb had these lovely tiles all throughout.

On our way home, we traveled to the lovely ski town of Chamonix, beneath the shadow of Mt. Blanc—the tallest mountain in the Alps. The town was lovely and provided some typical alpine inspiration on the buildings.

With travel limited these days, hopefully you have been inspired in some way by this little Provencal journey—I know I sure have! I am already picking out threads for a little lavender project in the future. 

Stay tuned!