Clove and Lavender Fish

Hello Dear Friends, Readers, Patchworkers and Quilters. I warmly welcome you to today’s post. It is mostly about patchwork and quilting on this site, however, I do think it is nice to have a small scrap project to make occasionally. There’s a lot of satisfaction in making a small project and also being able to use up some of those smaller scraps, which may not otherwise get a look in.

What is worse than having clove and lavender fish in your wardrobe? Having silverfish! And they are not a joke. They can certainly do a lot of damage to clothes very silently without you being aware, until one day, you pull something out, only to find it has little holes in it!

I have discussed this at some length in this post. Cupboard Keeps

Now, I am not saying that these are a complete panacea to the problem however, I do believe that they play a good role in prevention. Naptheline is really not nice and probably a last resort if there’s really a significant problem. Cloves are so much better and they last for years.

I was inspired to make some of these Lavender Fish as I have seen them on Pinterest. So I decided to make my own little pattern and whip up a few using scraps of course! The difference here is that I like to add cloves as well to my fish, to prevent the silverfish. The nice thing about these is you can put some little scraps together and make some very cute looking fish that you that you can hang in and around your wardrobes to help keep any unwanted critters away. You can also choose a theme if you prefer for instance a beach theme, or a country theme, or floral theme you could also recycle men’s shirts or denim would be lovely as well.

A young lady, I know, once told me that her family given up buying presents at Christmas time. Instead, everybody brings something that they have made themselves, whether that be jams, jellies pickles, ceramics, or in our case, we would perhaps make something that we stitched. As Christmas is never far away and these are a great little project, they would be a nice gift for anybody. They are a little bit different, sweet as anything and actually useful.

Given that fish come in so many different shapes, colours and sizes you can make yours as individual as you like.

Approximate finished size 9” x 3 ½”

Requirements for Making the Clove and Lavender Fish

Assorted scraps of fabric at least 4 inches wide

(Optional) Small squares of fabric folded twice on the diagonal like a prairie point if adding fins.

Paper to make your fish pattern

Paper scissors and sewing scissors

Dried lavender

Cloves

Polyester fibre fill

String or ribbons for the hanging loop

Buttons for the eyes

Hand sewing needle

Making the Clove and Lavender Fish Pattern

Fold your piece of paper in half length wise. Draw a half fish shape longitudinally along the fold. The fish I made is approximately 8.5“ x 3.5“.

Cut out the fish while the paper is still folded. Open out the fish pattern.

Making the Clove and Lavender Fish

Sew various fabric pieces together which are at least 4 inches wide to make a piece which is at least 10 inches long. Be sure to make two that match for each fish so that their stripes can go right around the body.

Press these pieces. Make sure to press the seam allowances in opposite directions for each piece so that you will be able to nest the seams nicely together.

Align the two pieces of fabric right sides together. Make a loop from the string or ribbon whatever length you would like making different lengths is a good idea. Knot the two ends together. Lay this loop between the two pieces of fabric with the knot hanging out of the mouth end of the fish. Centre the pattern on the fabrics ensuring there is at least a quarter inch overhang of fabric all the way round pin the pattern to the fabrics.

(Optional) If adding fins do it now by placing a prairie point facing inside the fish with the raw edges aligned a quarter inch away from the paper pattern. Sew around the fish close to the paper pattern. Leave an opening for turning.

Trim the fish shape 1/4” away from the stitching line. Clip the corners and into the edges of the tail but not too close to the stitching line. Turn to the right side. Use the string or ribbon to help pull the fish to the right side. Fill the tail of the fish with the dried lavender. Add some fibre fill to the head end and some towards the tail. Finished by adding at least a tablespoon or two of cloves. Add a bit more fibre fill if necessary to make the fish the size that you would like.

Hand stitch the opening closed. Sew a button to each side of the fish head for the eyes. Enjoy the delicious scent. These will be the sweetest smelling fish you’ve ever met!

Thank you for joining me on this little fishy adventure today. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed making these and you may also like..

Cane Toad Cutie Bean Bag & Pattern

Babushka Tactual Doll and Pattern

Hexagon Star Snowflake Trivet

Pot-Holders Quilted Flower Pots

Pincushion On Point

Happy stitching

Susie

© Susan Stuklis 2025