DIY Draft Stopper>>SAVE MONEY!!

Typically, I have a towel shoved at the base of the front door to block the draft. It’s pretty pathetic and gets unrolled each time the door is opened. No one else seems to understand my quest to keep the draft out. Actually, they probably understand but they just don’t care enough to re-roll the towel and shove it at the door base. As I roll the towel for the 100th time each week I tell myself, “One day I’ll make a draft blocker that looks and works better.” Well, today is that day!!

The fabric left over from recovering the kitchen chairs will make a great draft stopper that coordinates with the house. See post link below. When researching what to use as a filler, it seems the consensus is rice, beans or popcorn kernels. However, I read about how using edibles could be a problem if you have pets or mice (not pets). I do have a dog about the size of a mouse. Just teasing, Percy. You’re a big dog! Other filler suggestions were balsam or buckwheat hulls. When shopping around online for balsam and buckwheat hulls, I read reviews about lots of little bugs in the packages that people received. Um, yeah, not taking that chance. To avoid unwanted guests, I will use small pebble filler for vases. It is clean, non edible and bug free with enough weight to keep my draft stopper in place. Let’s get to it.

Supplies

Fabric
Scissors
Measuring tape or ruler
Sewing pins
Needle
Thread
Foam Insulation for pipes, 1″x1/2″ wall
Hack saw, or something to cut the foam
Chalk or pen to mark foam and fabric
Duct Tape
Filler, I used a jar of river pebbles
Sewing machine, optional

*As an Amazon Associate there is potential to earn money from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

Step 1:

Hold the foam insulation tube up to the door and mark the length of the door with chalk. Foam pipe insulation was selected instead of a pool noodle because it is lightweight and more malleable than a pool noodle and the center hole is larger. However, a pool noodle will probably work equally as well.

Step 2:

Use a hack saw or some sort of serrated cutting instrument to cut the tube along the chalk mark. If you have one, a hack saw makes quick work of this task and is easy to use.

Step 3:

Lay the cut tube on fabric to measure (with seam allowances taken into account) the length and width of the fabric rectangle. My cut fabric piece ended up being 38″ long and 8″ wide.

I could just stitch the two ends of the fabric cylinder straight across the opening to make them closed at the end. However, I have plenty of sewing experience to make the ends a little fancier. Instead, I cut out two circles to sew on each end to cap it off and create a true cylinder for my draft stopper.

To figure out the size of the circles, I put the foam tubing on end and traced around, giving at least a half inch seam allowance. Be sure to trace on the wrong side, or back side, of the fabric so your marks won’t show. Cut out the two circles. My circles ended up being 3.5 inches in diameter (across).

Step 4:

Cover one end of the tubing with duct tape. Fill with small river pebbles, or filling of your choice, to add weight to the tubing.

Once filled to your desired weight, tape the open end of the tubing to keep pebbles from spilling out. My tube was filled all the way and weighs roughly 1.5 pounds. Not too heavy, but heavy enough to stay in place at the base of the door.

TIP: After applying two strips of tape at 90° angles from each other on the end of the tube, wrap a long piece of tape around the tube edge. This strip will hold down the edges of tape and make the ends smooth for sliding the tube into the fabric tunnel later.

Step 5:

With right sides together, line up the long edges of the fabric rectangle and pin sides of fabric together. Using a sewing machine, or hand stitch, along the length of the fabric with a little less than a half inch seam. Try out the tube to make sure it will easily fit in the tunnel you just created. If you’re good to go, trim off edge of fabric to a little over 1/4 inch from the seam. This will reduce the bulk of thick fabric when turned right side out.

Step 6:

With right sides of fabric facing each other, pin one of the circles to the end of the fabric tunnel. Sew all around the circle at roughly a little less than a half inch seam allowance. Once checked to make sure there are no puckers or misaligned sections, trim down to about a little over 1/4 inch from the seam. Turn fabric tube right side out.

NOTE: This method is to make a sock of fabric, slide in the filled tube, and sew on the end. An alternate method would be to sew the length of the tube, leaving an unsewn portion in the middle and then sew the two circle on the ends. Then turn it out, stuff, and then stitch up along the side to close. Totally just personal preference. My concern was how to stuff the filled tube without bending it too much or ripping a seam in the process.

Step 7:

Now for the fun part. Once the fabric is turned right side out, insert the end of the filled and taped tube and slide it in all of the way. A technique I found particularly helpful near the end was to hold the fabric edges and jerkily shake down and up. Gravity took over and slide the tube in easier than me trying to pull the edges up. Continue until tube reaches the bottom of the sewn end.

Step 8:

Hand sew the second circle onto the open end of the draft blocker. Start with lining the edge of the circle up with the edge of the fabric on the draft blocker. Be sure right sides of fabric are together in order to hide the cut edges once sewn. It can be a little tricky to sew a round piece to a straight piece of fabric. Don’t worry, it will work out.

Once you sew a few stitches that way (I sewed until it curved too much to continue the straight line), flip the fabric circle over the end of the tube. Now stitch top to bottom and just tuck the cut ends in towards the center of the tube as you go. The circle of fabric was a little uneven as I went around the circle, but I just kept sewing to match the edge of the tube and it all worked out. That part will be tucked away inside so no one will ever see it.

That’s all there is to it. There is enough tubing and pebbles left over (it only took about 1/3 of the jar) that I could make a second draft blocker. Not sure where I would use it…actually, it could work nicely to block out the noise from the laundry room when the machines are running. Hmm, I just might do that.

The draft from under the front door is now stopped with a much more attractive and convenient draft blocker than a bunched up towel. The cold winter air or hot summer air will no longer creep in and run up the electric bill. A small victory but a victory none the less. This project was easy enough to do that I am kind of embarrassed it took me so long to get around to it. Oh, well, one thing at a time. At least this project has been checked off the “to do” list! Enjoy saving money so you can put those savings into making your house a home.💙

2 thoughts on “DIY Draft Stopper>>SAVE MONEY!!”

Melissa Orsak says:

October 28, 2020 at 8:48 AM

Wow, that is a great idea and looks good! Thanks

1. Lisa Nielsen says:
  
  October 29, 2020 at 9:47 AM
  
  Thank you! It is amazing what a visual difference there is when replacing the old towel with this draft stopper.