What about this?

The rare dusting of snow is melting now, but the temperature will be in the 20’s for the next couple of nights. I am glad that I took the time last week to make draft stoppers for some of my doors. No matter what type of weather stripping I put on it, my cranky old front door always plays the hot-cold air exchange game. I’ve been told by a contractor that the ultimate fix for this is to get a new front door. Not being ready or willing to do that, I decided to make some draft stoppers. How hard could it be?

After measuring the width of the doors, I rummaged through my fabric remnant bin and found some appropriate material. It is best to use a tightly woven fabric so that the filling doesn’t leak out and also try to select fabric that has a design on it so dirt won’t show. It is on the floor after all! For each draft stopper I cut out a rectangle of fabric using the measurement of the door width + 2-inches for seam allowance x 8-inches high. Fold fabric lengthwise with right sides together and pin in place. With your sewing machine stitch all the way up the long side and at one end. Turn the fabric tube right side out.

Filling material for draft stoppers should be somewhat heavy so the units stay in place and should also be somewhat malleable, so that each draft stopper can be pushed in against the door and door sill as tightly as possible. Possible fillers include sand, saw dust, or kitty litter. I opted for the last one since it was cheap and I was at the grocery store when I thought of the idea. I used a 20 pound bag to make three draft stoppers.

It’s probably best to pour the filling into the fabric tube outside the house and having another person to help would be ideal. Because I was alone and it was too cold in my garage, I filled mine in my family room. After spreading newspapers on the floor, I used a large jar to scoop kitty litter into a gallon Ziploc bag. After the Ziploc was about 2/3 filled, I cut 1-inch off the bottom corner of the bag. This was going to be my funnel. Holding the sealed Ziploc in one hand and the fabric tube in the other, I was able to fill the tube with minimal mess. Filling the entire tube required a few refills of the Ziploc bag. When refilling the Ziploc bag, be aware of which corner is the cut one so that the kitty litter does not come spilling out. Fill tube entirely except for the last 1.5-inches at the top. Fold about a half-inch of the top edge of the fabric down to the inside of the tube and carefully sew the tube shut. If it is difficult to sew because the filling is pushing against the machine’s presser foot, you may have to empty some of the filling out. Stitch again next to your first line of stitches for reinforcement.

I placed my draft stoppers on three external doors and I’m already feeling a slight temperature difference in my home. I should have made these years ago. The only trick now is to get my husband to put them back in place every time he goes in and out!