It is rather chilly here in Adelaide and I am counting down the days to spring (37 days to go!). I am also looking at ways to keep my home warm beyond just using the heater all the time, which chews through huge amounts of electricity. Door draught stoppers are a fantastic and practical project to help keep your home warm and increase the efficiency of your heating. They’re quick and simple to make, they’re a great way to use up scraps of old fabric and they help keep your home warm! You can make door draught stoppers in any style you like to suit your taste or to make the most of materials you already have lying around.
This simple design is based on a rectangle measuring 93 cm (36.5”) by 22 cm (8.5”), which includes seam allowance to make a finished stopper that measures 90 cm (35.5”) with a circumference of 19 cm (7/5”). To make the stopper you can simply cut the rectangle of fabric (according to the measurements above), or join smaller pieces of fabric together to create the rectangle, as I have done. Gather some vintage buttons or other trims to decorate your draught stopper, too. Fold your rectangle in half lengthwise with the right sides of the fabric facing together. Sew together along the long edge with 1.5 cm (5/8”) seam allowance.
Iron the seam allowance open, as shown. Ironing it now, rather than waiting until you’ve turned it through to the right side, allows you get the seam flatter and neater. Then you can turn it through to the right side and iron it again. Fold in 1.5 cm (5/8”) at one end and pin in place. Stitch close to the edge and then stitch over the seam again to make it really strong.
Now you can fill your draught stopper with rice or dried beans, but be careful not to overfill it. The filling should be able to move around a bit. I used a little less than 2 kg to fill each of my draught stoppers. This allows you to easily fold in 1.5 cm (5/8”) along the open edge. Pin in place and double stitch, like you did for the other end.
Now you can hand sew any trims or buttons to decorate your draught stopper. I used some vintage buttons of various sizes and textures to add some interest and character. Now your door stopper is finished. I made a set of three so I can block all the door draughts in our home. I hope you enjoy making this is a cute crafty project that can also help you save money on your heating bills!
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Very, very pretty and elegant too, a true piece of soft furniture.