Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Door Draft Snake

Door Draft Snake

Now that the cold weather has it with a vengeance I thought I would try my hand at a snake, a 'draft snake', that is. :)

Draft 'Snake'

We often have a draft here at the front door and I thought I would address that issue this winter season in a simple way (as opposed to replacing the door).


A 'door draft snake' seemed like an easy solution. :)

All you need is some long leftover fabric and some batting for stuffing.

I used 3 long strips of leftover flannel (42 inches long): 
-the striped one was 4 3/4 inches wide, 
-the turquoise one (snake belly) was about 3 1/2 inches wide
-and the inner 'tube' (to fill with rice or beans) was 4 inches wide and about 3/4inches shorter length.

These measurements can vary depending on how fat you want your snake to be. And you can use whatever type of fabric that you choose.





I sewed the turquoise strip of fabric to the striped strip lengthwise (rights sides together).  

Then I made the inner fabric 'tube' sewing the long sides together and one end shut.

Lay the snake fabric with right sides together (lengthwise of course) with raw edges at the bottom.

Place the finished 'tube' on top of the snake fabric against the bottom edge. The tube should be about a half inch shorter than the snake fabric. (Cut it now if it isn't.)

Now sew along 3 sides, the 2 long sides and one short (end) side, leaving one short end open (for stuffing and adding rice.)

Check your edges to make sure that you have caught the tube edges as well as both edges of the snake fabric. ( I had to re-sew mine at this point. :)

Then turn the snake right side out.  Now fill the inner 'tube' with rice, beans or pellets whatever you have on hand. (I used a funnel and got my husband to help at this point.)

Pin the rice/ bean tube shut and sew it twice with a 1/4 in. seam and a 1/8 in. seam for strength. 

Stuffing it was the hardest part. I found that a broom handle worked well to push the stuffing to the bottom. Use whatever works for you. Once it is stuffed you massage the stuffing to move it around if need be.  

Then sew the end shut and VOILA you have a finished snake. :)

Make a face on it if you want or put 'googley eyes' on it. 







Labels: