There aren’t many situations where froufrou would be considered a desirable attribute. Galentine’s Day, the variant of Valentine’s Day devoted to celebrating the women in our lives, may be one of those rare situations. The fancier and fussier, the better!
Interestingly, the word “froufrou” originated as an imitation of a sound. The French word was coined to replicate the rustling sound of women moving about in dresses of draped satin and silk. Nowadays, froufrou is defined as “very showy or fancy”.
Today’s blog post features a lavender sachet designed to look like a frilly, little dress. I’m not sure it would make a froufrou sound but I do think it’s showy and fancy enough to be froufrou.
The sachet is embellished with a small heart which qualifies it as the third response to my self-proclaimed Heart Maker Challenge. The challenge, which I announced in my previous blog post Setting My Heart on a Maker Challenge, is an effort to create at least three different projects featuring hearts before Valentine’s Day.
The froufrou, miniature-dress sachet is a fun little project you can make with a few, inexpensive supplies. Only basic crafting skills are needed—some simple sewing is involved but it could be glued instead. The best part is the sachet can be personalized with your own choice of colors and embellishments. Follow the step-by-step instructions to make froufrou sachets for your Galentine’s pals and/or yourself. The sachet with the red bodice and white skirt (on the right in the below photo) is used to illustrate the tutorial.
Supplies Needed
. Template: Download Froufrou Sachet – Complimentary Download to print the template.
. Paper: A few sheets of white paper to print template.
. Felt: 8” x 10” piece of felt for the dress bodice.
. Thread: To match the color of the felt and any trim.
. Fabric Glue (optional): To assemble the sachet by gluing instead of sewing.
. Tulle: About 5 yards of 6” wide ribbon for the dress skirt. Alternatively, about 1 yard of 54” wide tulle mesh would be needed.
. Ribbon: 22” of ¼” fabric ribbon (such as satin or grosgrain) for the dress skirt in the same color as the tulle.
. Ribbon: 11” narrow (⅛” or ¼” wide) fabric ribbon (such as satin or grosgrain) for the hanger.
. Decorative Elements: Small hearts, sequins, lace, trims or other embellishments. It takes about 8 inches of trim to go around the bottom edge of the bodice.
. Scented Filling: Approximately ½ cup of scented filling. There are a variety of options including dried florals or herbs (such as lavender buds or rose petals), rice or Epsom salts scented with essential oils, cedar shavings or fragrance beads. I chose to use a combination of polyester batting and dried lavender buds enhanced with a few drops of lavender essential oil.
Equipment and Tools Needed
. Computer and Printer: To print template.
. Scissors
. Ruler or tape measure
. Pins
. Needle: For hand sewing.
. Sewing Machine: Alternatively, this project could be glued.
. Tape: To temporarily secure ribbon to the work surface.
. Fabric Pen or Chalk: I prefer the Pilot FriXion marker.
. Spoon: To move scented filling into sachet.
Step 1 Prepare Template Download the Froufrou Sachet – Complimentary Download and print the template. Take care to ensure the scale is accurate on your printed version. See specifics in the download document.
Step 2 Make Felt Dress Bodice Cut TWO bodice pieces from felt using the downloaded template. Align edges and pin in place. Slip the 11” ribbon hanger between the two pieces of felt and bring the ends of the ribbon up between the neckline edges. Position the ends of the ribbons about ¼” from the side edges. Pin in place.
Sew the two pieces of felt together along the two sides and across the top neckline. I chose to use an overcast stitch so the sachet filling won’t leak. Alternatively, the felt could be glued. Leave the bottom hem edge open at this time. Turn the piece right side out pushing out the seams to form a smooth edge. The ribbon hanger should become a loop at the top of the bodice.
The next step is to gather the top of the bodice. Using a straight stitch on the sewing machine, lock in the beginning of the seam at the top center of the bodice. Bunch up the felt under the sewing machine foot and stitch to form gentle gathers. Sew for about ¾” and lock in the end of the seam. Alternatively, hand-sew this short seam by gathering the felt by hand and locking it in place with a simple running stitch.
Step 3 Embellish Felt Dress Bodice Determine how you wish to embellish the bodice of the dress. A small heart template is included in the complimentary download. Hand-sew, or alternatively glue, any embellishments to the top of the bodice at this point. Embellishments for the bottom of the bodice, ie along the waist or hem lines, will be addressed after the tulle skirt is attached. I chose to make a small heart from white felt and cover it with sparkly pearl-white sequins.
I hand-stitched the sequined heart into place.
Step 4 Make Tulle Dress Skirt The dress skirt is made by tying short, wide pieces of tulle ribbon onto a 22” strip of narrow ribbon. Cut 24 pieces of tulle measuring 6” x 7”. If you are using 6” wide tulle ribbon, simply unroll the ribbon and cut into 7” sections. Alternatively, if you are using tulle mesh yardage, measure and cut 6” x 7” rectangles. Stack your cut pieces carefully so it’s easy to differentiate the 6” edges from the 7” edges.
Prepare to tie the tulle pieces to the ribbon by securing one end of the 22” piece of ribbon to your work surface. I simply taped mine to the edge of my table.
A lark’s head knot is used to attach the tulle sections to the ribbon. This simple knot is commonly used in macrame and there are numerous online resources describing it in great detail. I’ve explained the steps below but, if you need a better explanation, just search online for “macrame larks head knot”.
Pick up a tulle section and hold it with the 6” edges to the top and bottom. Use your fingers (instead of the clip I used for the photo) to gather the center into a tight bundle.
Fold the tulle section in half bringing the two 6” edges together. Use your fingers to maintain the gathers and form a small opening at the fold. Place this opening over the secured ribbon with the tulle ends positioned towards you (#1 in the photo). Swing the tulle ends down under the ribbon and up through the opening (#2 in the photo). Pull to tighten. Arrange the tulle knot on the ribbon so the ends are aligned below the ribbon (#3 in the photo). Pull the knot snug—loose enough to lie flat but tight enough to keep the knot in place.
Repeat for the remaining 23 pieces of tulle pushing each knotted section snuggly against the previous one. Try not to twist the ribbon.
Step 5 Attach Tulle Skirt to Felt Bodice Find the center of the ribbon by folding it in half. Mark lightly with fabric pen. Gently slide 12 of the knots to either side of this center mark. Find the center front of the felt bodice by folding it in half. Mark with a pin. Repeat for the center back of the bodice.
Align the center mark on the ribbon with the center mark on the bodice front. Pin together about ⅜” from the bottom edge. Tack ribbon to bodice with a few hand-sewn stitches. Alternatively, glue the ribbon in place.
Prepare to tack the ribbon to the bodice at one of the side seams. Gently slide 6 knots towards the center front ensuring a snug fit. Grasp ribbon directly after the sixth knot and pin to the bodice at the side seam. Tack the ribbon to the bodice. Repeat on the opposite side.
Prepare to tack the ribbon to the bodice at the center back. On one of the sides, gently slide the remaining 6 knots towards the side seam. Grasp ribbon directly after the sixth knot and pin it to the bodice at the center back. Tack the ribbon to the bodice. Repeat on the opposite side.
The tulle skirt is now attached to the bodice at 4 points. Finish off the narrow ribbon by tying a small bow or by knotting and trimming off the ends.
Step 6 Embellish Waistline Determine how you wish to embellish the waistline where the skirt is attached to the bodice. Hand-sew, or alternatively glue, any embellishments. I chose to attach a pretty, beaded trim just above the tulle skirt.
Step 7 Fill Sachet The final step is to stuff the dress body with the scented filling.
As noted under the Supplies Needed section, I chose to use a combination of polyester batting and dried lavender. I enhanced the dried lavender buds with a few drops of lavender essential oil purchased at the Red Oak Lavender Farm & Shop in Northern Georgia (see previous post Stop and Smell the Lavender). Lavender has a lovely sweet scent, deters moths and removes mustiness. When the scent starts to fade, gently squeeze the lavender to release more oils and revive the fragrance. The fragrance is said to last for a couple of years.
Fill the dress body through the bottom opening. I used a small amount of polyester batting to fill out the curves of the dress. I spooned dried lavender buds into the mid-section and then finished off with a little more batting.
Close the opening with a hand-sewn whipstitch. Alternatively, the opening can be closed with glue.
Your froufrou miniature-dress sachet is finished—ready to be hung in a closet or tucked into a drawer! Whether you choose to give it to someone special on Galentine’s Day or keep it for yourself, it will be a fun, fragrant surprise every time the closet or drawer is opened.
More Info
You can download the project template here: Froufrou Sachet – Complimentary Download.
Please pin this image to share or save for future reference.
Check out the FanningSparks Maker Challenge to create at least three different projects featuring hearts before Valentine’s Day.
. See the blog post, Setting My Heart on a Maker Challenge, to learn how this maker challenge came about.
. See the blog post, Maker Heart Challenge #1: Hearty File Storage Boxes, for my first response to the challenge.
. See the blog post, Maker Heart Challenge #2: Broken Heart Trivet, for my second response to the challenge.
The froufrou miniature-dress sachets featured in this post are my third response to the challenge.
UPDATE Feb 19, 2023: See the blog post, Maker Heart Challenge Bonus: Ceramic Valentine’s Heart Box, for my fourth, and bonus, response to the challenge.
I’m a big fan of lavender. Check out these FanningSparks blog posts to learn more:
. Weaving Lavender
. Stop and Smell the Lavender
Today’s Takeaways
1. Sometimes fussy, showy and fancy are the way to go.
2. Lavender has a lovely sweet scent, deters moths and removes mustiness.
3. Consider making a fun, froufrou, miniature-dress sachet.
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