Quick and Easy Draft Stopper

Quick DIY draft stopper (shown here in the hallway).

We've been having a problem lately with the neighbor's cigarette smoke drifting into our kitchen. We're hoping that by making a draft stopper for that door, we might lessen the stale cigarette smell. I looked up a few online DIY's for draft stoppers. They're all very similar and super simple. Make a tube, fill it up, and sew it closed! I'm a bit of a fabric hoarder, considering how often I actually sew, so I knew I could find some scraps to make into a quick draft stopper.

When I opened my tub of fabric, I stumbled on one of my husband's old shirts that I'd set aside to be used for something. It's from our days interning at MASS MoCA. He was going to toss it, as it had gotten too small and holey, but I grabbed it with the thought of somehow re-purposing it (at the very least as a rag). This seemed like the perfect use for it!

I intended to cut the strips 8 1/2 inches tall by however long the door is (plus seam allowances). I was distracted when measuring, however, so I ended up with pieces 6 1/2 inches tall. It's a little thinner than I'd wanted, but I'm sure it will still work just fine. I sewed together my three sections so I had one long strip, then sewed up one end and made it into a tube. After turning it right side out, I filled mine with a mix of dry beans and rice. Once it was full, I hand stitched the open end closed. And that's it! Took me less than an hour from start to finish, and a lot of that was spent trying not to spill rice all over the floor while I filled it.

Close up of the graphics from the T-shirt.