Victorian-era crafts transform lavender into scented decor

How to Make Lavender Wands

The following instructions are excerpts taken from “Homemade Gifts Made Easy” found online at https://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/how-to-make-lavender-wands.html

Getting started

Collect seven to 15 fresh lavender stems with at least eight inches of stem below the flower. Young flowers still in bud work best. You need an odd number of stems for the weaving to work.

Pick stems in mid-morning after dew has evaporated.

If you don’t have lavender growing in your garden, ask a neighbor if they grow the herb.

Making the wands

• Step 1: Lay the lavender stems side by side, with the flowers staggered in two rows.
• Step 2: Tie ribbon tightly around the stems at the base of the flowers. Leave at least a 10 inches loose end — you’ll need it to make a finishing knot later on. Leave the other end of the ribbon attached to the spool.
• Step 3: Gently squash the stems with the edge of a spoon, just next to the ribbon. This makes them easier to bend without snapping in the next step.
• Step 4: Bend the stems to form a “cage” around the flowers. Run the loose end of the ribbon alongside the flowers, to poke out of the bottom of the cage. Let the spool-end of the ribbon poke out between the bars at the top of the cage.
• Step 5: Weave the spool-end of the ribbon under and over the lavender stems.
• Step 6: If bits of flower stick out between the stems and ribbon, poke them back into place with a toothpick. 
• Step 7: Keep weaving until you reach the place where the flowers end. Then go back to the start, and pull the ribbon tight. Take up any slack ribbon and work it all the way through, to make the weaving nice and snug. The lavender will shrink as it dries, so weaving tightly is important.
• Step 8: Wrap the spool-end of the ribbon around the base a few times, and then tie it to the loose-end that you left poking through the bottom of the cage in step 4.