Draft Stopper for Drafty Doors

We've got an old farmhouse, and the wooden doors are very drafty. We've seen these these draft stoppers or draft dodgers before, but the problem is that every time you open the door you have to kick it back into place. We came up with the idea of adding a flap to keep the door in place.

This is a quick, cheap project that can save you money in the winter months.

First, measure the width of your door. Add 4" to the length of your door. (Example, I have a 32" door, so I need fabric 36" long)

Next, pick your fabric. You'll need something fairly thick. We used utility grade linen.

Now, cut 2 pieces of fabric 8" wide and the length of your door... 36" in our case. After you cut, you'll need to lay them on top of each other and pin together. If your fabric is one sided, you'll want the pretty sides on the inside facing each other, so the ugly sides are facing out.

Now sew together the 2 long sides (36") and one of the ends (8"). You'll want to sew the corners with a 45 degree angle, this will make it look nicer once you turn the pretty side out.

After you sew, trim the sewed edges.

After trimming, turn inside out. Now the pretty side of the fabric will be facing out, and your ugly side will be on the inside.

Now divide the piece in two lengthwise. Also measure in 2 inches from the end of the open end not sewn together.

Sew the length so you have 2 tubes with an open end. One of these will be filled, the other will be the flap holding it to the door.

If you want, you can now add a design to the front. Write something, draw, or whatever you can come up with. This was done with a Sharpie paint pen. Draw on the side that will have the filling in it, close to the sewed seam.

Now fill ONE of the sleeves. You can use rice, beans, or sand if you don't think it will get wet. You can also use beanbag fill, but this can get expensive.

It took us about 12 cups of rice to fill ours up.

When filling, don't fill all the way to the top, stop a couple of inches from that 2" line you made earlier.

Now close it up and sew along that line to seal everything in. Trim off the excess.

Now lay next to the door, and fold the flap underneath the door.

If you have a wooden door, you can use tacks to hold it to the door. If you have a newer aluminum door, you'll need to find another way to hold it on... stick tape, velcro, or something like that.

You're done!! Time to laugh in the face of the power company due to the lower heating bills.