A fragrant sachet embroidered with gum blossom.


Finished size: 10 x 16cm.

Stitches: Colonial knot, long stitch, stem stitch.

You'll need
30 cm cream organza
DMC stranded embroidery cotton: green (3052), light apricot (760), dark apricot (351), cream (739)
Crewel needle size 9
15 cm embroidery hoop
Ribbons to match embroidery
Potpourri
Machine thread to match organza
HB pencil

Here's how
1 From the organza cut a 36 x 26cm rectangle.

2 Fold the organza in half to make a piece 18 x 26cm and press the fold. The bag is made from two layers of organza, with the embroidery done on the top layer only. Open out and with a pencil, trace the outline of the design onto one half of the organza, centering it and placing it approximately 4cm above the raw edge to allow for the hem.



3 Using the embroidery hoop to hold the organza firmly in place, work the leaves and nuts in stem stitch using two strands of green (3052) cotton. Using one strand of each of the apricot cottons (760 and 351), work long stitch for the blossom filaments. Complete by adding colonial knots at the end of the filaments, using the dark apricot (351) cotton.

Making up the bag
1 When the embroidery is completed, fold the fabric again along the previous crease, join the sides together right sides out and, treating this double thickness as one (there will be four layers of material at the seam), sew a French seam.

2 With the sachet's right sides together, place the French seam at the centre of the back and press lightly to crease the side folds. Hand baste the bottom edges together and stitch through all layers in a narrow seam. Trim the seam if necessary and overlock or zigzag to neaten off. Turn to right side.

Finishing
Using the cream (739) cotton, work eight evenly spaced button bar keepers, approximately 7mm wide, around the sachet. Place them 1cm above the top of the design. Thread the ribbons through. Fill the sachet with potpourri and tie knots or bows as preferred.




Source: Beautiful Embroidery (Murdoch Books)