Thursday 19 November 2009

How To: Lavender Teabag

These teabag-shaped lavender sachets are so sweet - a fun and quirky way of keeping your clothes smelling sweet and deterring those pesky moths (just don't try to drink them!). I'm going to be making a few of these this Christmas for some fellow tea-obsessives (making use of the lovely lavender from my mama) & I thought they'd make a fun free tutorial to share...

To make these you will need:
- white felt
- narrow white ribbon
- white embroidery thread
- light purple felt
- some dried lavender & a teaspoon
- tracing paper
- white and purple sewing thread, needles, scissors, pins etc & an embroidery hoop (optional)

A pattern sheet for this project can be found at the bottom of this post.


1) Using the pattern piece provided, cut out 2 identical white felt pieces for the teabag.

2) Cut a length of ribbon, approx 5 inches long. Use white thread to sew one end of the ribbon to the "top" of one teabag shape, so the ribbon overlaps the felt slightly. Then pin both teabag shapes together so that they sandwich the ribbon between them.

3) Starting from the bottom of the teabag, use neat whip stitches to sew the edges of both pieces together almost all the way round - make sure you leave enough room for your teaspoon to get through the gap.

4) Use the teaspoon to lightly stuff your teabag with lavender. Use the handle to make sure the lavender gets in all the corners and is evenly distributed. Then stitch up the gap with more whip stitches. 5) Stitch the word "tea" in small letters in white embroidery thread on your purple felt. You can use an embroidery hoop if you have one. If you're not confident stitching the letters freehand, draw them onto the felt with a soft pencil and stitch over your pencil markings.

6) Cut out the tag pattern piece and draw around it onto some tracing paper. Cut this out, so you have a see-through pattern piece. Position the tag shape over your embroidered "tea" until you get the lettering as neatly centred as possible and then cut it out. Also cut a matching piece from plain purple felt.

7) Use matching purple thread to sew the loose end of the ribbon into the tag. Then use neat whip stitches to sew the front and back tag pieces together so the ribbon is sandwiched between them.

Double click on the pattern sheet to view it full size and print:


Please note that this tutorial is for non-commercial use only. If you use an image on your own blog, etc, please credit me and link back to this post. Thanks!
 
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15 comments:

Cate Lawrence said...

oooh what a great idea! thanks for taking the time to make the tutorial :)

treaclezoo said...

v. sweet lavender sachets - I am also really loving that gorgeous teacup & saucer, it's exquisite!

Unknown said...

Lovely tutorial and a great idea. Thanks.

LuliBags said...

Great post, which has given me 'cup and saucer' envy!

Silky Prudence said...

What an absolutely spiffing idea! Might try those for presents for the mums x

karenshopes said...

Oh they are so sweet, thanks for sharing.
KAren

ella parry said...

Great!! blog!!

HouseholdWords said...

How cute and fun! Thanks for sharing the wonderful idea.

Mandie
Householdwords.etsy.com

Mrs Bee said...

Thanks for the idea!

Jen Walshaw said...

I just wanted to drop you aline, to say I have wasted to do this since you posted the tutorial and did last night at last. Thank you very much

Alex - The Interior DIYer said...

What an amazing idea! I would love to make these as part of our wedding gifts. But I'd have to start soon if we're to have almost 100 people ... Oh dear. Still, amazingly cute and simple idea.

Eva @ Four Leaf Clover said...

These are so cool! And awesome that you shared the tutorial.. and are a lover of tea (I imagine)!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Eva - yes, I do like a nice cuppa :)

Silly Little Sheep said...

They are super cute!! And they could make great toys for kitchen-oriented little girls too :)

Jannie said...

These are adorable. I think they'll make nice "thank you" gifts.