In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, granulated sugar, and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Stir in the lavender and let steep for 30 minutes.
Using a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth* strain out the dried lavender and pour the simple syrup into a glass jar. Seal the jar and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Notes
If you are buying a tied-together bunch of dried lavender on the stem, you may find it under names like "lavender swag", "lavender inosculation", or "lavender bunch". Just make sure it is a culinary lavender.
When making lavender syrup, the buds themselves should never be boiled. The simple syrup is supposed to have a hint of lavender. Not lavender with a hint of sugar. The most common mistake is that the water, sugar, and lavender are all added together at the beginning. This results in over boiling the flowers which makes the syrup bitter.
If you choose fresh lavender, you can use the leaves and flowers. These both give excellent flavor and aroma to the syrup. You will need to triple the amount of lavender added to the syrup to keep the flavor balance correct since fresh flowers aren't as strong as dried.
Dried lavender doesn't actually let out a natural purple color, the syrup turns more of a slightly yellow tinge. If you want it to be purple like some of the storebought brands, you need to use either use a food dye, or a blend of fruit and vegetable powders.
If you don't use cheesecloth, you'll get small floaters in the lavender syrup. This doesn't impact the texture, just the appearance.
As you stir the sugar mixture in the pot, be careful not to splash any on the sides. As the temperature rises and the sugar cooks, it crystallizes the sugar to the pan making it really hard to remove. Use a wet pastry brush to help rinse any off the sides if you notice it happen.