DIY Lavender Wands

If you’ve ever grown lavender, you know how hard it is to throw away those beautiful fragrant stems at the end of the season.

Making lavender wands is one of my favorite ways to preserve the harvest and turn it into something pretty enough to display.

Lavender wands are an old-fashioned craft made by weaving lavender stems around the flower heads and securing them with ribbon.

They’re surprisingly simple to make, and once they’re finished, you can use them as a natural fragrance for drawers, closets, bedrooms, or anywhere you want a little lavender scent.

It’s also a lovely project to make with lavender you’ve grown yourself.

What Is a Lavender Wand?

A lavender wand is made by bending the long stems of fresh lavender over the flower heads and weaving ribbon through the stems.

As the lavender dries inside the woven stems, the flowers stay contained rather than shedding all over the place. The finished wand looks decorative while still allowing you to enjoy the fragrance of the lavender.

Traditionally, lavender wands were used as fragrant sachets and placed in drawers or wardrobes.

When to Harvest Lavender for Wands

The timing is important because you need fresh, flexible lavender stems.

Harvest lavender when the flowers are just beginning to open. Choose long, straight stems with healthy flower heads.

Pick your lavender on a dry day after the morning dew has evaporated.

Avoid using stems that are already completely dried. They’ll be too brittle to bend without breaking.

If you’re growing lavender specifically for crafts, you may also want to read Where to Plant Lavender and When and How to Prune Lavender to help keep your plants healthy and productive.

What You’ll Need

Making lavender wands doesn’t require many supplies.

You’ll need:

• 13–25 fresh lavender stems with long, flexible stems
• 1–2 yards of narrow ribbon
• Scissors
• A small piece of floral wire or string, optional

A satin or cotton ribbon works well. Choose a color that complements the lavender, or use a natural color for a more rustic look.

How Many Lavender Stems Should You Use?

Odd numbers are easiest to work with because they make the weaving pattern more consistent.

For a small wand, try 13 or 15 stems.

For a fuller wand, use 17, 19, or 21 stems.

The longer the stems, the easier they will be to bend over the flowers.

How to Make a Lavender Wand

1. Gather Your Lavender

Gather an odd number of fresh lavender stems.

Try to choose stems that are similar in length and have flower heads that are roughly the same size.

Remove any leaves from the lower portion of the stems.

2. Tie the Stems Together

Arrange the lavender so all of the flower heads are gathered together at the top.

Tie the stems together just below the flower heads with a small piece of string or floral wire.

Don’t tie it too tightly—you’ll need to be able to bend the stems without crushing them.

Leave a long enough end of ribbon to create a finishing bow later.

3. Start Folding the Stems

Hold the flower heads in one hand.

With your other hand, carefully begin bending the stems upward and over the flower heads.

Work slowly and gently.

Fresh lavender stems are flexible, but they can still snap if you bend them too quickly.

Continue around the bundle until the flower heads are enclosed inside a little cage of lavender stems.

4. Begin Weaving the Ribbon

Take your ribbon and begin weaving it over and under the lavender stems.

Work your way around the flower head, alternating the ribbon over one stem and under the next.

As you continue, the stems will begin forming a woven pattern around the lavender flowers.

Keep the ribbon snug, but don’t pull it so tightly that you break the stems.

5. Continue Around the Wand

Continue weaving until you reach the bottom of the flower heads.

Try to keep the pattern even as you work.

If the stems aren’t lining up perfectly, don’t worry. Part of the charm of handmade lavender wands is that they don’t have to look machine-made.

6. Finish the Wand

Once you’ve woven all the way around the flower heads, wrap the remaining ribbon around the stems several times.

Tie it securely and finish with a bow.

You can trim the lavender stems to the same length if you’d like a neat finished look.

Let Your Lavender Wand Dry

Although you’ve made the wand using fresh lavender, the flowers will continue to dry inside the woven stems.

Hang the finished wand somewhere dry and away from direct sunlight.

As the lavender dries, the stems will shrink slightly. Check the ribbon after a few days and tighten it if necessary.

Once completely dry, your lavender wand is ready to use.

How to Use Lavender Wands

There are lots of places you can enjoy a homemade lavender wand.

Try placing one:

• In a dresser drawer
• In a linen closet
• In a bedroom
• Beside your bed
• In a guest room
• In a bathroom
• In a closet
• In a decorative basket
• On a bedside table

You can gently roll the wand between your hands occasionally to release more of the lavender fragrance.

How Long Do Lavender Wands Last?

A lavender wand can stay fragrant for quite a while, although the scent will gradually become lighter.

Keep it somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight.

If the fragrance eventually fades, gently squeeze or roll the wand to release more of the natural oils in the dried flowers.

You can also refresh the fragrance with a tiny amount of lavender essential oil, applied carefully to the dried flowers.

Make Lavender Wands With Your Garden Harvest

One of the best things about this project is that it turns something you grew into something useful and beautiful for your home.

If you have a large lavender harvest, you can set aside some stems for wands, some for pressing, and some for drying.

Try How to Press Lavender if you’d like to preserve individual stems for cards, bookmarks, and botanical crafts, or see How to Make Lavender Potpourri for another way to use dried lavender.

And if you’re growing lavender specifically for harvesting, Harvesting Lavender for Tea: A Beginner’s Guide has more tips for choosing the right time to cut your flowers.

A Simple Old-Fashioned Lavender Craft

Lavender wands are one of those crafts that don’t require much in the way of supplies or complicated instructions.

Just fresh lavender, a little ribbon, and some patience.

I especially love that they’re useful when they’re finished. Instead of putting your garden harvest away in a box, you get to enjoy the fragrance and beauty of your lavender throughout your home.

It’s a simple way to turn something from the garden into something you’ll enjoy all year long.

Follow my lavender board on Pinterest.