How to Create Door Warmers

Creating door warmers can be fun and also can be a family activity.When you’re getting ready for the colder months, door warmers—as simple as they are—can also help save on energy bills. Keeping out cold breezes and creating fun ways to do it can get the whole family involved.

Things You'll Need

• Fur or pseudo-fur
• Flannel
• Corduroy
• Felt
• Needle and thread
• Scissors
• Beans
• Batting

Instructions

1. Do a quick inventory of doors you need to make warmers for. Not every door will be practical to cover, but most will and you will need to know how many you have. Measure the width of each door. They usually start at around 31.5 inches, but it’s good to know the exact area you need to cover. Door warmers fit at the base of the door length-wise to cover the gap between the door and the threshold.

2. Look around for old stuffed animals that are on their last legs. If they have been abandoned by your child, they still can serve a useful purpose when you recycle them into door warmers. Small ones won't do, but bigger ones—even those not shaped like a snake—can be cut up and sewn together to match the length of the door. If they're long enough, use them intact.

3. Go to the store or look online and buy materials such as felt, flannel or corduroy. These materials will help stop drafts themselves, especially when stuffed. Lighter fabrics simply will let drafts pass through them. Think about the clothing you wear in cold weather. Whatever keeps you warm probably will keep drafts out of your home.

4. Decide whether beans, batting or stuffed animal innards are what you will be using. Gather enough for the doors you need to cover. This can be tricky to gauge, but if your gather a bit more than you need, you can always save it to make more door warmers in a year or two.

5. Get the family together, cut out the material and start sewing into tubes or “snakes” with one end open. Everyone can make the snakes since they are basic and don’t need expert sewing skill. A door warmer basically is a long piece of fabric with the long sides and one of the short sides sewn together.

6. Holding the sewn "snake" upright, start stuffing. Use a long wooden spoon or a broom handle to push the stuffing down into the snake's "skin." Stuff gradually so that each part of the snake is full. It's important that the snakes are stuffed as tightly as possible, once they are securely sewn together. The more stuffing tightly packed in each snake, the more cold air you can keep out.

7. Sew the open end of the door warmer together tightly so the snake is secure and tightly packed. Feel the entire length prior to sewing so you know it's full.

8. Place each door warmer at the base of the door. Feel to see if there is a draft coming through. Snug the door warmers tightly against the door to keep out most of the cold air.

Tips & Warnings

• The heavier you can make the stuffing, the better, as the warmers will be more stable by the door

• Adding pieces of decorative felt and eyes to the snake can make them fun for children and make them conversation pieces. The eyes can be found at dollar stores, craft stores and department stores.