We show you how to make a gorgeous, fragrant lavender wand that will repel moths while scenting your closet and drawers.
What is a lavender wand?
A lavender wand is a gorgeous, traditional handicraft originating in Provence. Known as ‘Fuseaux de Lavande’ in France, they are a fantastic way to capture and preserve the scent of lavender.
Made by weaving lavender stems and ribbon into a cage that holds the fragile flowers, lavender wands vary from simple in design like the one I am sharing with you today to large versions with the ribbon woven into intricate patterns.
Lavender wands are traditionally placed in linen cupboards and drawers to repel moths and keep clothes sweet-smelling.
Lavender wands are also sometimes referred to as lavender bottles, batons and dollys.
Harvesting lavender flowers to make wands
Before making a lavender wand, you need to harvest the flowers. You can use any lavender to make wands; however, the longer the stems, the easier they will work.
Here are my top tips for harvesting lavender to make lavender wands.
- Harvest lavender in the morning once any dew has dried
- Aim to harvest stems that are at least 30cm long.
- Choose stems that have flowers that are just starting to open. The flowers will be at their most fragrant while still being firmly attached to their stalks.
- Always use freshly cut stems to make the lavender wands as they are more pliable and less likely to snap.
You can find my top tips for growing lavender in my post How to plant a beautiful lavender hedge in your garden.
What you need to make a lavender wand
- Freshly picked lavender stems (I used 15 for the wand shown in this tutorial)
- 6mm ribbon x 1.5m
- thread or tiny elastic band
- toothpick and scissors
Note: For these lavender wand instructions, you need an odd number of stems to achieve the alternating weave pattern.
How to make a lavender wand.
Strip all the leaves from the stem. These can be dried and retained for future crafts.
Line up the bottom of the flower heads and tie them together. I used a tiny clear hairband to secure mine, but thread also works well.
Tie the ribbon over the thread/band, leaving a short tail of about 30cm long at one end of the ribbon and the rest on the other.
The next step is creating the cage. Turn the bundle upside holding the flowers are in your hand and pinch the bunch where it is tied.
Gently bend each stem down around the blossom heads. Score the underside of the stem section that is being bent with your fingernail to avoid snapping.
When all of the blossoms are encapsulated by the stems, pull out the long end of the ribbon, leaving the short tail tucked inside.
Start to weave the ribbon under and over the stems. Gently pull on the ribbon to make sure the weave is tight. The most challenging part of this process is in the first two rows of weaving. On the second row, you should be going under the stems that you had gone over on the first row.
Continue weaving until you have covered all the flowers. Use a toothpick to push any buds that stick out back into the weave and tighten the ribbon as needed. Wrap the ribbon around the neck of the wand and tie it off. Finally, trim the stems to the same length for a neat finish.
Note: After your Lavender wand has dried for a couple of weeks, you may find it shrinks, and the ribbon becomes loose. If so, tighten the ribbon by pulling each loop from the top before retying at the neck.
Lavender wands can last for many years. As the fragrance fades, squeeze or rub the baton in the palms of your hands to release more scent.
