One of the unfortunate realities of home sewing is that there is generally unusable leftover fabric scraps and threads after most sewing projects. And if you've ever done alterations, you'll know that most of the jobs involve taking up hems, which also leaves you with small scraps of fabric.

This draft stopper, door snake, breeze blocker (or what can even become a toddlers play pony) is the perfect project where you can put all your loose threads and fabric to good use.

Not only are you saving your scraps from going to landfill, these nifty draft stoppers with also save you from those frosty drafts entering your house so you save on electricity too - a double sustainability win and one step closer to zero waste sewing!

The end result will have some character and a be bit lumpy as the contents can be inconsistent compared to traditional fillings.

PLEASE NOTE that because you you could be filling your draft stopper with a range of fabrics, the contents could be flammable and should be kept away from heat and flames.

Let's get started!

First you'll need to measure gap of the doorway you want the draft stopper to go, my doorway is 86cm.

Measure and cut out a rectangle of fabric that is 2cm wider than your doorway (for my 86cm doorway, the fabric will be 86cm + 2cm / 3/4" seam allowance, so you have 1cm / 3/8" on each side) x 22cm high (this includes a 2cm seam allowance, 1cm / 3/8" on each side). For this particular draft stopper I used an old piece of curtain material and my trusty Clover Chaco Liner Pen and Mundial Serra Sharp Scissors.

Fold the piece lengthways with right sides together. Sew / overlock down the long edge. Press open.

Shift the seam around so it lies flat down the middle of the piece and not to one side. Sew / overlock one of the short ends.

Turn inside out and point the corners with something like a long ruler. Then fill with your scraps and threads. Fill it quite tightly, leaving about 2.5cm / 1" from the end.

You can also have one already made up so you can put your scraps and threads straight in as you work on your projects.

On the open end, turn under 1cm / 3/8" to the inside of the stopper. Carefully line up the edges and sew approximately 6mm / 1/4" from the edge. If you're finding it a bit of a tight squeeze to sew, you may need to take some of the filling out.

And you're done! You may need to give it a bit of a massage to even out the filling as best you can with the contents being inconsistent compared to traditional fillings.

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