How to Dry Herbs

Do you grow lavender, thyme, mint, oregano, marjoram, tarragon, basil...or any other herb in your garden? Drying herbs is so easy and you can enjoy those flavorful or fragrant herbs year round by drying them at their peak flavor and scent.

This is thyme. Can you tell which is the store bought thyme and which is the home dried thyme? And the store bought time is not old! I just bough it a few months ago.

I remember the first time I used my own dried oregano in a recipe I had made many times before. The whole pot of jambalaya tasted better than it ever had. It's definitely worth it to dry herbs yourself, and it really doesn't take much time or effort.

Here is the process step by step:

1. Cut herbs from the garden.

For small leafed herbs like oregano, thyme, marjoram, etc... you want to cut the stems as long as you can so that they will be easier to handle and dry. You can bundle the smaller stems with a rubber band or twine. For larger leafed herbs like basil, you can cut the full stem, but you may want to just dry the leaves and not the whole stem too.

When should you cut your herbs to dry? Just before they flower. This is when they will be the best without being bitter.

Do you have to cut them before they flower, what if you missed it and the tops are blooming? Or what if you want to dry everything at once and one of the herbs isn't close to flowering yet? You can still dry them. I have done so and had good results. They may not be the best, but they still taste great and are fresher than you'll get from the store. Just be careful because the bees like them after flowering. And be sure to trim off the tops so you are only drying the leaves and stem.

2.  Wash the herbs.

Bring the cuts you made inside and give them a good rinse to get any bugs, dirt, weeds, or any other debris off.

If you have a smaller amount, you can just pat dry them off after rinsing. If you have a large amount, I suggest laying them out on clean dry cloths or paper towels to get excess water off. You could also use a salad spinner.

3. Decide how you want to dry them.

  There are a few different methods to dry the herbs at this point. You can hang them up to dry, lay them out to dry, or put them in a dehydrator.

For smaller amounts and stems or large leaves, I like using the dehydrator or at least laying the herbs out on the dehydrator shelves (without turning it on). Technically, allowing the herbs to air dry does preserve more flavor, but it takes longer. So if you have time, you can lay everything out on the dehydrator shelves and allow it to dry without turning the dehydrator on.Alternatively, set the dehydrator to it's lowest setting (mine is 95 degrees). If you leave the dehydrator off, it will take a few days to a week for everything to dry. If you turn the dehydrator on, it takes about 4 - 8 hours depending on the size of leaves and how much you pack into the trays. The leaves should crumble easily when dried completely.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you will just bundle the herbs in sections and secure them with a rubber band or twine. I like to hang up the larger herbs to dry instead of taking up dehydrator space anyway. Be sure to separate the herbs into small bundles so that the middle can dry before getting moldy.

Then just hang them up upside down in a dark place away from sunlight. I have hooks in my pantry that I loop the rubber bands around. If you want to save yourself a bit of mess, you can also place a paper bag underneath the bottoms or on the floor to catch bits of leaves that crumble before drying all the way.

4. Remove the leaves from the stems.

If you dried just leaves (sage, bay, basil), you can just put the whole leaves into a container. I find the flavor lasts longer if you crumble the leaves just before using. If you dried the plant stems and all, you will want to remove the leaves by sliding your fingers down the stems to break off each leaf into a bowl. On smaller leaves/stems, you may need to crumble the leaves off as the stems will break with this method.

Once you have removed all the leaves, then transfer them to a container for storage. You could technically put the leaves from the stems directly into a storage container, but in my experience, without a wide mouth receptacle, a lot of leaves will end up on the counter instead of in your container.

Whatever type of container you use, I suggest labeling it with, of course the name, and also the year. 

A few more tips:

For lavender, you want the purple flowers to be closed when you dry them. Cut the plant just above the leaves so that you are just getting stems.

Pictured below is thyme. I don't have a ton of edible thyme growing in my garden right now, but even if you have just a little, it will still taste better than store bought. So just dry what you have!

If you save a bunch extra, you can give small jars of dried herbs out as gifts for Christmas or another holiday that you celebrate.

Enjoy the extra flavor in your cooking!

So Jess Sew - Seen and Sewn Patterns Blog Tour - Aspen Tank

This post is part of a blog tour, and my first time being part of a blog tour! (Which means, keep reading because there are links to a raffle and an awesome coupon code at the end!) The blog tour is hosted by Seen & Sewn Patterns which is a relatively new pattern company (Their Facebook group is exactly one year old today!). We were able to select which pattern we wanted to make from Seen and Sewn Patterns, and I chose the Aspen Tank. I love a good tank top for the summer! Plus I want to start making more woven clothing to challenge myself.

This pattern wasn't difficult. And I got to learn how to use single fold bias tape! I hesitated sewing the bias tape in for a few days because it made me nervous. But, after looking up a few tutorials, I realized it wasn't hard and dove in. At first I thought the binding attached over the top of the neckline, but it actually is sewn first to the right side of the fabric, and then folded twice to the wrong side; then secured so that you don't see it from the right side. It makes for a really professional looking seam. And, it's easier than attaching a knit binding since you can use a sewing machine instead of a coverstich, and you can sew from the wrong side of the fabric.

The bottom part of the tank is attached the same way as a skirt is attached to a bodice, and go figure, the bottom part is labeled as a skirt on the pattern pieces! It's just a simple gather and sew. I do suggest marking quarters on the skirt portion to ensure your gathers are even all the way around the shirt.

The shirt itself is a loose fitting flowy top which complements well with tighter fitting pants, shorts, or skirts. It does also have the option to have gathered cap sleeves, but I skipped them in this case. I like showing off my shoulders, and it keeps one cooler in the summer. The fabric is a Georgette Crepe by the way, with has a textured feel similar to liverpool. It also has a nice drape but can maintain some structure.

You'll notice throughout the photos, I have a belt on in some and no belt in others, it's fun how you can stick with the flowy style, or turn the tank into more of a peplum look. I think this would be so cute with a pencil skirt and heels.

Here's the back with the belt.

I really like this pattern! It fits well and is totally in style right now. And btw, I wish my legs really looked this smooth in real life, it was the awesome lighting!

The only thing I will say about the pattern is that the size range is a bit smaller than I'm used to. It goes from xs-xxxl.

Below the information for the rest of the blog tour. It started on Monday, so be sure to click on the links below to see the other patterns and hacks that other bloggers posted! There's also a giveaway through rafflecopter where you can win free patterns, so be sure to follow that link. Also at the rafflecopter link is a coupon code where you can get two patterns from the website for a buck each until the end of the month!

Welcome to the Seen & Sewn Together blog tour.

Arielle from Seen & Sewn Patterns is creating patterns with a focus on encouraging people to join the #handmaderevolution by sewing their own handmade wardrobe. A nice group of sewing bloggers have joined together to share with you how we’ve taken the Seen & Sewn Patterns and let our creativity loose with them. We want to inspire you whether you’re just starting or well on your way to building your handmade wardrobe. The extra fun part for you is that we have a prize pack giveaway from Seen & Sewn Patterns that you can enter below. The prize pack for US residents includes 1 pattern of choice, a Slow Fashion Tee, and a Slow Fashion Pin. For our international readers the prize pack includes a copy of all Seen & Sewn PDF Patterns. Bonus! All entrants will receive a coupon code for a $1 pattern of choice -so make sure your email is up to date in your profile when entering.

The tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along this week.

Monday June 17th

Sew 4 Five, Sewing A la Carte, Aurora Designs

Tuesday June 18th

Idle Sunshine, That’s Sew Lily, House of Estrella

Wednesday June 19th

Mahlicadesigns, Sewing with D, Fee Bricolo, Aurora Designs

Thursday June 20th

Let’s Go Hobby, Sewing from Scratch, Craftstyle Living, Mama You Can Make It

Friday June 21st

Claire Cruse, Make It Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy

Enter to win something good here!

Want to see the Aspen Tank on the website? Click HERE.

Happy Sewing!

Watermelon Juice

Have you ever had half a watermelon or more go bad in the fridge? Or maybe you grew watermelons and they were all ready to pick at the same time. What to do with that extra watermelon? Watermelon Juice!

This one is so simple, you don't even need to print a recipe.

Step 1. Chop the watermelon into large chunks and put it in a blender seeds and all.

Step 2. Add lemon or lime juice. You can use fresh or concentrate, whatever you have on hand.

Step 3. Blend!

Want to make it extra special for a party? Add a bit of sparkling water and you could even pop a lime or lemon slice on top of each cup.

Still too much watermelon leftover? After blending, freeze it and enjoy watermelon sorbet tomorrow!

Watermelon has lots of great benefits. According to WebMD, watermelon has more lycopene than tomatoes and  "Studies show it [lycopene] may help curb your risk of cancer and diabetes (source)." Other benefits of watermelon include slight protection from sun burns, heart health, vitamin A for your eyes, and it can even help with reduce joint inflammation. So drink up!

Enjoy!

So Jess Sew - Ellie and Mac South Shore Romper

This is the Ellie and Mac South Shore Romper, a super cute and fun pattern. It's really not too difficult, a few things just went awry for me...

So, this was one of those sews where nothing went quite right. Perhaps you have had this sort of thing happen to you too? First of all, I ran out of the blue modal fabric, so I had to do some digging and found a coordinating gray dbp fabric. I cut the band and tie in the same gray color. That worked out okay.

Second,  I lengthened the bodice per the pattern instructions. The pattern is drafted for a 8 inch side waist, and I measured my side waist to be 9.5 inches. So I lengthened the bodice by 1.5 inches. The pattern is drafted for a 5'4" person, and I'm 5'5" so I thought I would just leave the bottom half alone and be golden. I got it all sewn together and the inseam was low, and the shorts were just above my knee. I know I have a short rise, I should have expected this!

So, I tried the shorts on and made a mark where I liked how they fit and looked. After cutting the shorts at the mark I made, I re-attached the elastic (btw, I should have used knit elastic, but I used braided and you'll see in the pics if you look closely that it is a bit stiff and therefore wavy, anyway...) to the top of the shorts, BUT I made a mistake and had to seam rip a bit off at the beginning and accidentally put a hole in the fabric! Agh! I finished attaching the elastic and sewed them into the top and realized you could totally see white thread stitching at the seam. Next time I'll use a narrower stitch on the serger when attaching the elastic. I fixed this by using a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine just outside the visible stitching and it fixed the issue.

Now, what about that hole I made earlier? It's small and in the back, so after top stitching the elastic, I darned the hole with matching thread on the sewing machine. Voila, done! Or so I thought until I got to my closet to hang it up and realized I just darned the hole to the top of the bodice!

:(

I slept on it and picked the stitches out the next day. I was REALLY careful not to make another hole this time. After re-darning the hole without attaching to any other part of the garment, it was truly finished.

I say this to myself all the time, but I really learn something new with every project. I'm sure that's true for you too. Try not to let your mistakes get you down, and instead treat them as a lesson for next time! I still got a super cute romper out of the deal!

I haven't owned a romper in my adult years. It's so comfortable! It feels like pajamas, but looks really cute. The criss-cross top makes it really easy to get on and off. Here's the back, I had enough of the blue fabric to make the back of the bodice. I really like how the shorts are a bit loose at the bottom, it's super flattering.

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The pattern does come with an optional tie as well. I like it both ways, with and without the tie. A more drapy fabric would allow the tie to look cute in a bow too.

Here it is with the tie in the back, it does cinch in the waist nicely.

I'll make another, but next time I'll know how much to add and subtract in the length and hopefully not make those same silly mistakes again!

You can see the pattern on the website HERE. Hope you enjoyed reading about my silly mistakes.

Leave me all your comments and questions below!

Happy Sewing

So Jess Sew - George and Ginger Drama Dress (updated pattern)

George and Ginger has been updating all the patterns to expand the sizing and update the bodices to the newest changes. The pattern now includes sizes from tween to 5x.  I made the Drama Dress previously with the old pattern, you can see that post HERE. I made it for winter, so it had long sleeves, the slimmer skirt, and the keyhole front. Since the designer/owner of George and Ginger had a Facebook-wide pattern test for this one, I opted in and made the newest version for a fun and comfortable Summer dress.

I made this version with the basic neckline on front and back, banded arms, full circle skirt, and pockets. The blue fabric is Modal, which is awesome by the way. This is the first time I've used modal. It's similar to rayon spandex, but slightly thicker, has better recovery, and doesn't pill like rayon. The white bands are DBP. I love that it looks slightly sporty with the contrasting bands so that I can wear flats with it. I'm a mom of three young boys, I need comfort!

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The pattern fits like a glove. I usually need to grade out from bust to hips, but since there is a lot of ease in the circle skirt, I just made the same size from the top to bottom.

I didn't add any length to the dress (I'm 5'5"), but since the fabric has quite a bit of vertical stretch, plus the weight of the circle skirt, it became a bit longer, which I don't mind.

The picture above is a bit bright, but it shows the curves of the dress well. The pattern is slim through the waist and then flares out so that you don't lose your waist in the fabric, great drafting!

You can see the pattern on the George and Ginger website HERE. It's fun seeing all the different options of the dress in the tester photos.

Comments, questions, leave them below!

Happy Sewing!