Craft Tutorial: Double-Sided Draft Stopper

This week, the theme for Iron Craft was “Stay Warm,” with a challenge to create a draft stopper; you know, the fabric log-type things that you put in front of the door to keep cold air from seeping in.  I was glad to see that this was the challenge because I actually need one of these!

Rather than the standard bag-full-of-beans variety, I decided to take a different route in creating my draft stopper.  If you watch much TV, you’ve probably seen ads for a product called the Twin Draft Guard.  Basically, it is a pair of connected foam tubes that rest on either side of the door.  This is handy for rooms you go in and out of frequently, since you don’t have to bend down to move or reposition it every time you go through the door.   At a suggested retail price of $12.95 plus shipping and handling, this is my inspiration:

Okay, so mine isn’t filled with fancy-schmancy foam, and while theirs works for both interior and exterior doors, I’d say that my version is indoor-only, but…  I made mine for a dollar!

Let’s start by talking about materials.  For the outer part of my draft stopper, I used a fleece scarf from Dollar Tree.  I picked this particular scarf because it was one of the widest scarves they had, which will work better for my purposes.  You could also use fleece yardage, but I’m a cheapskate!

The other thing you will need for this project is a pair of rods that are about as long as your door is wide.  It’s okay if they are a little short (mine are), but they can’t be too long or the door won’t shut.  My rods are plastic poles that used to be part of a laundry sorting cart.  Somehow when I moved house years ago, one of the poles for it got misplaced, rendering the entire thing useless…  But I kept it anyway!  (You will come to find that I am terrible about throwing away anything I could possibly reuse!)  You could use a variety of different things for your rods, including large-diameter dowels or small-diameter PVC pipe.

Cut the fleece scarf to the width of the door.

Use hot glue to attach one of the rods to each of the long edges of the scarf.

Roll the rods toward each other until the space between them is just wide enough to fit around the door.  Use hot glue to secure the rolls in place.

Now just slide it under the door!   (It keeps out drafts AND entertains kitties!)  I can’t wait for tomorrow to see what’s in store next for Iron Craft!