Up next in 10
How to MAKE a DIY Draught Excluder for Doors FOR FREE!
2K views
Mar 26, 2024
Whether you call it a draught excluder, breeze blocker or a draft stopper you definitely need one if you have a draught under your door. A simple draught excluder can make such a difference to a room or indeed a whole house. Keep warm this winter for less! In this video you will learn how to make one out of an old pair of jeans or any piece of fabric that you have. Old sheets and duvet covers are always a great source of fabric! If you like written instructions too then check out the tutorial on my blog at https://christines-crafts.com/the-easiest-cheapest-draught-excluder/ If you enjoy crafting my blog is full of great ideas and tutorials. Plus if you subscribe you gain access to my free resource library, which includes a home crafts e-book, planners and much more, and get to hear about my latest projects first. Take a look at https://christines-crafts.com/ Enjoy watching and making your own draught excluders. Please leave me a 'thumbs up' if you enjoyed this video and subscribe so that you get to see all my videos as they are posted. You can also find me across social media. To see all my information and ideas find me at https://linktr.ee/Christines_Crafts. If you are thinking of opening an Etsy store then use this link and get off to a great start with 40 free listings https://etsy.me/32xoPdg
View Video Transcript
0:00
In this video I'm going to show you how to keep your house a little bit warmer this winter by making a DIY draft excluder
0:06
You can make it out of an old pair of jeans or whatever other fabric you've got in the house, perhaps from an old sheet
0:11
But let's get started. First of all, I'm going to show you how to make one out of an old pair of jeans because who doesn't have one of those
0:18
So all you're really going to need is one leg of your jeans, so if you've got other projects in mind for the rest of it, that's great
0:26
And something to fill your jeans with, so you could use stuffing like this, like a toy stuffing or a wadding
0:32
Or you could cut up old tights because they're really nice and soft and they're great to use as filling
0:37
Or indeed, any old clothes, so I'm going to use t-shirts for mine, but you could use any old clothing and just push that in
0:46
Or at a push you could even take paper that you've used for something else or newspaper and scrunch it up and use that as a filling
0:54
All you've got to do is block that hole under the door
0:58
So the first thing you're going to do is find that door with a draft under it by putting your fingers there and measure the gap
1:04
So you can see mine is 29 inches, so whatever your gap is, just make a note of that measurement
1:11
You're going to need it. So back to the pair of jeans and that leg, you're going to measure from the bottom of the leg because obviously you've got a nice edge there that you want to keep
1:21
And you're going to measure your gap and then add an inch on
1:25
So for me, with a 29 inch gap in front of my door, I'm going to cut this at 30 inches
1:33
And I'm not going to be particularly precise. I'm just going to take my scissors and cut straight across that leg
1:41
You do want that extra bit so that you can make sure you get your seam and it'll still cover the whole gap
1:47
If you want to, you could even add a bit more and give yourself plenty
1:51
And then the rest of the jeans can go unless you're going to use them for your filling
1:55
And we're going to work on that trouser leg. That's going to form our draft excluder
2:00
Now, if you've got a very straight leg, you might be happy with it. That's fine. But as you can see, mine's very narrow at the bottom and considerably wider at the top
2:08
So if yours is the same, you're going to need to do the step. If not, you can jump straight back in shortly with us
2:15
So you can see at the bottom there, there's probably going to be one seam or the other that you want to keep
2:22
Now, I recommend keeping the one that is the straightest. And that's the one you're going to measure from
2:29
So you want to get that leg laid down flat. You can see that's the seam I'm going to keep
2:34
And then we're going to measure how wide the trouser leg is at the bottom at its narrowest part
2:42
Now, obviously, if you're dealing with a pair of flares, that might not be the narrowest part
2:46
But you're going to measure there and then whatever that measurement is, you're going to repeat all the way up the trouser leg
2:53
And you're going to mark it somehow. And for me, I'm going to use pins
2:57
And you can see what's going to happen is at the bottom there, you're not going to have to sew it at all
3:02
It's just going to be on the seam that's already there. And then you're going to be sewing more and more off the trouser leg as you go along
3:10
So mark that measurement. And that is where you're going to be sewing
3:15
So just keep going and you'll see, because my seam at the bottom isn't quite straight, we're getting a bit of a curve
3:22
It doesn't matter. Once you've marked it, you're going to take it over to the machine
3:26
And I recommend starting at the bottom of your trouser leg where your nice edge is
3:31
But that brings me to the fact you're sewing denim. Now, at the bottom there, there's going to be several layers
3:36
Be very, very careful. You can see I'm doing it by hand because I'm that nervous about it
3:43
Make sure you use a good strong needle. I'm using one specifically for denim
3:48
And take your time. I only have a basic sewing machine, so I know this can be done, whatever sort of sewing machine you've got
3:55
But just take your time because it's very easy to snap a needle
3:59
And then once you've done a little reverse, you're off down that line of pins
4:04
And just sew all the way along. You can see, nothing fancy
4:12
Just all the way along until you get to the other end where you cut your trouser leg
4:18
And a little reverse, and that'll just secure that end. Now, all that that you've sewn, you've got that extra bit that you don't want
4:29
It's a good idea to cut it off, perhaps leave about half an inch seam allowance
4:33
Make sure you cut the right side off so that you keep the tube that you want
4:38
And you've just made yourself a bit more filling for your draft excluder
4:45
So now you can see we've got a long tube and we need to turn it into a bag that we can fill
4:51
So on the end that you cut, you're going to sew across it
4:56
So I've just put some pins in, not quite straight. Straighten them up and you're just going to sew along that end to give us a nice edge
5:05
So it's back to the sewing machine. A little bit easier to sew this time
5:09
but just be careful at those edges because you have got seams and thicker bits
5:13
Reverse at either end to make sure it's secure. And we should have formed a bag
5:21
Now before you turn it the right way out, you can trim up that seam if you like
5:26
It depends how wide it is, you don't have to. But I do recommend cutting the corners off
5:32
Now just be careful, don't go anywhere near your stitches, but just cut some of the bulk away
5:37
Again, more filling. And then it's time to turn your bag the right way out and start to form a draft excluder
5:48
So I've put my hand right in and I'm poking those corners out so that we get a good finish
5:53
And you can see it's just ready for filling. So I'm using t-shirts that I've cut up
5:59
Push it in, push it right to the end and keep going until your draft excluder is as full as you want it
6:06
And it's up to you, you can make it really tight like a barrel, or you can do it like mine where it's not so full and it's quite squishy
6:14
And then all we've got to do is close it up. Now the reason we're closing it up on the bottom of the leg is because we've got those nice edges already tidied for us
6:24
So just close it up, making sure you've got your seam at either end
6:29
And pin or clip it closed. And then it's over to the machine and sew along
6:38
Now really do give a word of warning, you've got a lot of denim under there
6:42
It's really bulky. So just take your time. You can see I'm fighting with the machine as I'm pushing it under the machine's trying to move away
6:51
Just take your time and make sure you do reverse at either end to keep it secure
6:57
But this is probably the bit that you're most likely to snap your needle if you have trouble
7:01
So do be careful. And if you're really nervous, you can always hand sew this end
7:09
But you just need to make sure you do sew it and finish it off
7:14
And then that's it. You've finished your draft excluder. Well done. You've got a nice tidy end
7:19
Go place it in front of your door and keep yourself warm. Now if you're starting with a piece of fabric, that's what we're going to do now
7:27
So we're just going to have that extra step where you're going to cut a rectangle of fabric
7:32
Now I did mine 12 inches wide. You could do it wider if you want a fatter draft excluder
7:38
And you need to do the length, the gap you measured, plus 2 inches
7:42
So whatever gap you're trying to fill was another 2 inches. Take your rectangle and fold it in half lengthways
7:50
So you can see that you're forming that draft excluder shape that you're going to need
7:56
And then you're simply going to pin along that long edge, all the way from one end to the other
8:04
And leave one end open. And then when you come to the other end, you're going to pin along the short end as well
8:11
And we're going to sew both the long and the short end
8:16
When you go to the machine, start at the folded edge, go along the short side and then along the long side
8:23
So you're starting at the fold, you're going to do a little bit of forward and reverse
8:30
just so it holds it secure. And then you're going to go along to the corner
8:36
So just a nice straight seam until you get to the corner
8:42
And then you want to put the needle in, lift the foot and turn through 90 degrees
8:49
And it gives you a really good corner. So needle in, lift the foot, turn through 90 degrees and away you go again
8:58
And then you're going to sew along that long edge, all the way to the other end
9:06
And you're going to do your little reverse at the other end to secure it again
9:11
So you don't want anything coming undone. So then you've formed a bag
9:18
So before you turn it through, clip those corners to reduce the bulk
9:22
Just be careful not to cut your stitches. And remember they go all the way to the edge, so be careful
9:28
And then it's time to turn it the right way out. And once you've turned it through, you need to poke those corners out
9:41
so you get a nice corner. So you can just do it with your fingers or a chopstick, just something quite blunt
9:48
so you don't damage your seams. And then it's time to fill it
9:52
You could use an old T-shirt, but you could use paper, tights, anything you've got
9:58
And once you've got old clothing, you can just roll it up and push it in
10:02
And that's the easiest of all. But I choose to cut mine up, I think it fills it better
10:08
But you'll see there's nothing precise about it. So you can just cut it up into lots of little pieces
10:14
and then all those little pieces can get pushed into your draft excluder bag
10:19
And you just cut as much as you need and keep pushing them in
10:23
until you're happy with your draft excluder. You can make it a really tight cylinder, like a barrel
10:28
or like me, you can leave it quite soft. So long as it blocks that hole under the door, it's doing its job
10:35
And so after that, it's however you want it to look. So once you've got it full, we need to tidy that end up and close it up
10:43
So just fold over half an inch all the way around and pull your seam to one side and your fold to the other
10:51
and just pin or clip along it. So all I've folded is half an inch to give us a nice tidy edge
11:01
Okay, all the way along. And then over to the machine, sew that up
11:06
And you've finished your draft excluder. So well done, hope you made it in a fabric that matches your decor
11:13
So I hope you're going to stay nice and warm and I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial
11:17
Please give me a thumbs up if you have and subscribe if you want to see more great tutorials
11:22
that can save you money and get you crafting. Thank you for watching
#Fiber & Textile Arts
#Other