Ready to Sachet? The Tutorial!

Materials:

Start with a piece of linen stretched on an embroidery hoop (note that I use plastic when I'm not planning to frame the piece in the hoop). This hoop is 7 inches, and the fabric, obviously, needs to overhang a bit. You'll also need some felt-scrap circles in different sizes, from a bit smaller than a dime to a bit larger than a quarter. I keep a big heap of these around, but for one sachet, you need 3-5 of the larger circles and the same number of smaller circles. Cut three or four green leaf shapes, too. (The template from the Sew, Mama, Sew tut includes these shapes, or you can freehand them.) You'll also need a bit of coordinating cotton for the back of the sachet, along with a couple of straight pins.

Applique:

I like to begin by creating my arrangement--experimenting with colors and the placement of felt pieces until I get the look I want. (Sometimes I make three flowers, sometimes as many as five.)

Next, use a small, neat running stitch to attach the "petals" circles to the linen.

Then, using a small, neat whip stitch, attach the "centers" circles, yup, you guessed it, in the center of the "petals" circles.

Attach the leaves using a running stitch that goes from one leaf point to the other.

Construction:

Once you've completed the applique, it's time to build your sachet. I use a mat and rotary cutter to cut the linen down to a 6"X6" square. Scissors and a ruler will work, too. As you cut, you can position the applique anywhere you like inside the square. (I've made this one a little off center--on purpose, folks!) At this point, you will also want to cut your printed cotton to a 6"X6" square.
Pin the pieces right sides together.
Using a fairly tight stitch (to avoid lavender leakage), sew from approximately 1/3 from the edge of one side, all the way around the square, ending approximately 1/3 from the other edge of the starting side. This will leave an opening of about 2 inches in one side of your sachet. In terms of seam allowance, I'm just using the edge of the presser foot as a guide--clearly I'm not a sewing machine genius. ;-)
Trim excess fabric and miter the corners before turning your square right side out. (I use a chopstick to facilitate turning.)
Now it's time to create the decorative edge. I'm using this "H" setting on my Janome--it's sort of a scallop, and I have the settings at 5 for width and 1 and 1/2 for length. If you don't have a similar stitch, even a simple zigzag would work just fine.
Use the scallop or zigzag to edge stitch around the sachet, leaving the 2" opening you created when straight stitching.
Filling:

It's time to make this puppy smell good. I am filling my sachets with french lavender buds, which I have purchased from Glass House Supplies. If you search etsy supplies for "lavender," you'll find multiple sources, and I'm sure there are brick and mortar shops in some towns that sell this stuff, too. (Whole Foods has it here in Portland, but it's organic and costs a small fortune.) Clearly, you can use whatever material you like--other scented buds or herbs, balsam tips, etc.

I use a small spoon to fill the sachet through the little hole, making sure it gets down into the corners. I fill the sachet almost to the top, but you don't want a super-tight stuff. You need to be able to sew the hole closed, which is difficult if you can't close the fabric easily.
When the sachet is filled, fold in the "loose lips" of fabric at the hole and pull it taut; use the same decorative machine stitch to close the opening, and VOILA!
As you saw in my earlier post, I like to bundle two of these babies together with some ribbon--a great little gift!

Please let me know, if you try this, what you think--and if you need clarification or have any questions, send them my way!