This crocheted project is a redo of this sachet I made, which has a removable cover over a cotton insert cushion. Whatever essential oil you prefer is sprinkled on the cushion, and the cover put back on. Presto, you have a sachet that you can renew whenever you’d like, with your own customized scent! I’ve really enjoyed the one I made last year, so decided to make another one — a holiday version to use in our guest washroom.
As for the motif I used to make the front, once again I used the free pattern for Dada’s Primavera Flower Granny Square, following the premise, “if it works, don’t change it”. I specifically point that out because I did search around for a different crocheted granny square pattern to use for this, but ended up coming back to Dada’s pattern because it’s so cute and it’s fun to make. That said, feel free to use whatever granny square you’d like for the front, or even make one out of fabric if you’re not a crocheter.
This project is a perfect stash buster, in that while it uses a combination of three (for this one) or four (for the original one) colours, it only uses a small amount of each.
I used an assortment of vintage tapestry wool that I lucked into when I helped my friend Leslie (who is a professional organizer) decide what to do with her client’s unused collection of crafting goods. This elderly lady had been an avid maker, however was no longer able to create due to her failing eyesight, so Leslie, knowing I was a keener for yarns and crafting supplies, got me in there to help sort things out. It turned out that three boxes, filled with a rainbow of colours of tapestry wool, were going to go to Goodwill, so with permission from her client, Leslie suggested I take it. While I can’t see myself making an actual tapestry, now I have about fifty different shades of small amounts of yarn to crochet with, using a small hook.
↑ I used more green than shown here. ↑
The instructions for making one of these renewable sachets are all written out on my previous post on the subject (again, you’ll find that here). The only thing I changed to make the Christmas version, aside from using holiday colours, is when I chose to change to the third colour. In the original case, the flower is surrounded by a ring of a third colour and then the fourth and background colour is added. In this case, I surrounded the flower with my background colour, and used the yellow from the centre of the flower as the last row around the square. Then I went back to the green to attached the front of the cover to the back pieces. I also added a chained loop for hanging it up, at one corner.
A further change I made this time is that I quickly made the insert cushion with some dark coloured cotton jersey, stitching it by hand rather than setting up my machine for such a small job. The important thing to remember is that you want your insert cover to be 100% cotton, filled with pure cotton stuffing (I use cotton balls), so the essential oil you later apply will soak right into the cotton. (It won’t soak into synthetic fabrics as well.) Also note that you want to change the colour of your insert cover to suit the front of the crocheted cover, because you can actually see through the crocheted part a little bit, so you want to match it relatively well.
↑ I love the three-dimensional flower in this pattern. ↑
As for the scent, I used this Holiday Blend of pure essential oils, made by the company in California called Plantlife. Unlike the usual cinnamon heavy holiday scents I’ve smelled, this one contains Bergamot, Cardamom, Cassia, Clove, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Tangerine oils, with just a hint of cinnamon. It’s a warm, dreamy, wonderful scent. I found mine at HomeSense, where they had a number of Plantlife essential oils, however, it’s probably more easily found online at their shop here. However, I’ve also seen other holiday scented essential oil mixes out there, or skip the holiday aspect and use whatever you like. The beauty of this project is that you end up with a sachet that smells exactly how you want it, and can be refreshed whenever the scent wears off. I find that a few drops of oil will nicely scent a small room (such as a powder room) for about a week.
I made this one evening last week, while re-watching the holiday movie Love Actually, and sipping on a mug of Nick’s Sinners’ Tea. It made for a cozy winter evening, for sure. I’m really happy with how it turned out and look forward to rediscovering it every Christmas from here on out.
Thanks for checking out my blog,
xo Loulou
