TUTORIAL Prim Penny Rug Style Draft Stopper with bonus Stuffing Tip

Prim Penny Rug Style Draft Stopper tutorial

 Materials List:

1 to 1 1/4 yards main fabric for draft stopper

3 1/2"L piece of velcro strip (I used the 1/2"W)

Embellishments, if desired

Your choice stuffing materials

**Stuffing suggestions: rice, beans, fresh kitty litter,

sealed in sandwich bags; taped shut

If you want embellishing, use scrap materials,

buttons, beads, etc.  

I chose a thick, heavy corduroy type material

for the draft stopper, and old denim pieces 

and scraps in red for the "pennies."

Cut two strips of your draft stopper material 

 4 1/2 "  wide by *44" in length 

* the length will depend on your door's width.

I wanted mine to extend beyond my 36"

front entrance door to also cover the door trim.

If you opt to add embellishments, wait on sewing

the 2 strips together. If you want to leave it plain, 

go ahead and sew the strips, right sides together,

 using a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving one end

 open for adding the *stuffing. For the end's opening

turn under 1/4" and stitch a hem.

Turn right sides out. Proceed with velcro closure.

If you DO want to add embellishments, 

pick one of the strips to work with, 

on the right side of the material .

(Pictured here is my strip laid out for placement of my finished pennies)

For my larger circle using the denim, 

I traced around a can of furniture polish :)

For the smaller circle in contrasting red print,

I traced around a spool of thread ;)

Center the smaller circle onto the larger one,

and sew in place with contrasting colored thread,

using a zig zag stitch. Your machine may have other stitches.

I chose to add a button as well ;).

I made four pennies, so I spaced them evenly on the

right side of the draft stopper fabric, pinned in place, and

sewed them on with contrasting red thread,

again with a zig zag stitch.

 

On your opening end, turn under and stitch 1/4 "

seam (this is where you'll later attach the velcro).

Now sew the two strips together, 

with right sides together, on the 1/4" seam.

Turn right side out and press flat with hot iron.

For the closing end: Pull your velcro apart; 

stitch the top and bottom pieces into place by running 

a straight stitch to secure, then go back over with a 

zig zag stitch down the center of each velcro strip. 

Using velcro will allow you to easily remove your *stuffing

in order to wash the draft stopper when it gets dirty.

*Stuffing: I used ALL of a 5 lb. bag of rice, sealed in plain

fold-over sandwich bags, taped shut.

It worked out perfectly, for a total of 9 little bags. 

To judge how much to put in the bags,

hold it up with your fingers and they

should be just under 1/2 full, from the bottom fold; 

Sorry, I could hold and click at the same time =(

Carefully fold plastic over and over

and secure with a piece of tape.

I used strong packing tape for 

a good seal, and also tap the sides.

You should have 9 bags that look something like this

Slide'em all in and close the velcro strip!

Enjoy!

JoAnn