Sweet woodruff caught my eye as May Wine recipes flew around my April twitter feed.  I wanted to grow it then realized it already graced our garden.

Sweet woodruff’s culinary and medicinal uses make me almost as excited as its household use as a linen sachet and pest deterrent.

As easy as sewing sachet pillows may be, the likelihood of me dragging out the sewing machine anytime soon ranks up there with me waxing the car and organizing my storage unit.

The shortcut: spice bags.  I’ve cheated before by stuffing dried herbs into old socks and stockings and placing them unceremoniously into my dresser drawers and closet shelves.  But muslin or cotton spice-bag-sachet-pillows are almost cute enough to give as gifts, especially if you package them in a handsome box with nice tissue paper and fine ribbon.

See the photo above for the easiest how-to ever.

A Few Notes:

1.  Dry herbs before using for a sachet.  Sweet woodruff dries very quickly – I cut it, leave it in a bowl covered with a cloth napkin or tea towel for a few days and it’s ready.  Other herbs can be tied with dental floss and hung to dry on a hanger for a few weeks or placed in a food dehydrator.

2.  Tie the closure tight so little crunchy bits of herbs stay within the bag as it bounces around in use.

3.  Tie something you can undo, like a bow, so you can empty and refresh the herbs when needed.

4.  Wondering where to buy reusable cotton or muslin spice bags?  I’ve seen them at the grocery store and city hardware stores (in the kitchen utensil section), fancy kitchen supply stores and for cheap online.  Just search “reusable spice bags” to find a supplier.

5.  Sachet “recipes” are endless if you’d like to go beyond a single herb.  Here are a few to get you started.

6.  This can easily be turned into a crafty project to do with kids, whether you make them for your own home or to give as gifts.

Having spice bags on hand saves time in the kitchen and, as it happens, in the sachet-making department.