An Iris Sachet

Each week during the school year I attend a Community Bible Study class.  My youngest son goes with me and stays in the nursery while I go to my small group.  This week will be the last time we meet this year and I wanted to make something to take to the nursery attendant that watches him each week.  Her name is Iris so I first looked for machine embroidery designs featuring that flower.  I finally settled on doing a bit of silk ribbon embroidery and making a little sachet.

The iris is an easy flower to create with ribbon embroidery as it is created with a lazy daisy (or chain) stitch and some straight stitches.  I found a lovely video on YouTube that showed numerous ways of creating this bloom but I went with the simplest form.   The hand-dyed silk ribbon I used came from RibbonSmyth and was lovely but the too-long delivery time on my order makes me hesitant to order from them again.

I began with a six-inch square of white dupioni silk and marked a four-inch square in the center.  Turning the square on-point, I marked three straight lines representing the stems and machine stitched those using a triple stitch and rayon thread.  Next, I embroidered the flowers and the leaves (which are simple straight stitches with a twist).  I trimmed the finished square to four inches and basted a length of ribbon to the top corner for hanging.  Next I cut another four-inch square of fabric and sewed the two right sides together, leaving a space for turning.  I made a small muslin “pillow” and stuffed it with potpourri.  I used batting and fiberfill to stuff the sachet and hand stitched the opening closed.  I used more of the silk ribbon to tie a bow at the top.  I hope Iris will enjoy her new sachet.