So, our old draft snake was a rolled up towel. It did the job, no complaints there. But I wanted something a bit prettier. I was all set to go to the fabric store and spend my little heart away. (But I had a coupon. That's good for something, right?) After taking measurements, making a list, getting my coupon, I was about to grab my purse and head out the door . . . then good sense finally won over.
If I was to make a draft snake to save money, would it really make sense to spend money making it? And if I was to make a draft snake because it would be the green thing, well then, is getting in the car to buy more stuff, when I already have stuff-a-plenty, just to save the planet, really a good idea?
Upstairs I went to my pile of fabric scraps. I found a remnant from the duvet cover I made a couple of years ago. I had forgotten I even had this scrap of fabric. I love this. I had my eye on this print for months at the fabric store. Every time I'd have to pick something up, I'd slip off to the upholstery department and *sigh* wish it could be mine. (Lusting after fabric, that's pretty low. ) Anyways, one day I was at the fabric store and the whole roll was on the clearance table. Can you imagine how this fabric-starved woman felt, seeing the very roll of fabric she wanted, in mark-down heaven on the clearance table? I about flipped. I grabbed that roll and did some measurements in my head and bought as much as I thought I needed and then some. It turned out that I had enough for a duvet cover, two shams and now some for this draft snake, and still some leftover for a pillow. In case you don't find this fabric to be so enticing, I should explain. My grandmother had some wallpaper in her home very much like this fabric. It's a nostalgic thing.
While upstairs, in addition to this piece of fabric, I found some matching thread and a bit of batting, but not quite enough. Then I remembered the pieces of my childhood comforter. Most of this comforter has been cannibalized into other projects. This last piece has been living in our very scary attic. I say scary because it is full of cobwebs, so full, I could charge admission for tours of the attic on Halloween. So I mustered up some courage, dodged in and out, to quickly grab the bit of comforter, and brought it to the laundry room. Something that didn't occur to me before I threw it in the wash, when you wash something like a cut-up comforter, the batting comes out the edges and makes a bit of a mess. I should've washed it on gentle. Lesson learned.
So here's my plan. Cut the pretty fabric into lengths to be pieced to make one long piece about 9 3/4 inches wide by 74 inches long. This is for double 30-inch French doors. I'll sew the pieces together. Fold in half lengthwise and stitch the long seam. Fold under the ends and stitch in place, for finished edges. Roll up the comforter, tightly. Rubber band it in several places to secure it. Place a plastic bag over the leading end, to enable the rolled comforter to slide into the pretty sleeve. Tie the ends, candy-style with ribbon or ties made of the same fabric. We'll see how it goes.
It went well. 1 1/2 hard-working hours later, my draft stopper is completely done and in place. My fabric piece happened to be 9 3/4 inches wide, hence that very exact sounding measurement. The fabric was not long enough to make the 74 inches in one stretch, so I pieced it together. In my design classes we always were told that if you have to piece something together, it is better to piece it in 3 parts than in 2 -- less visually disrupting. So I had one long piece at 53 inches, then cut the other piece at 24 inches and halved it, allowing for 1/2 inch seams, totaling 74 inches.
I folded it over, right sides together, and sewed the fabric, with 1/2 inch seam allowance, then zigzagged to prevent fraying, along the long edge, forming a tube. Turned this inside out, then hemmed the ends.
I rolled up the comforter to get an idea of how fat I wanted it to be. Then marked and cut it to size. Rerolled it tightly, and secured with rubber bands.
Then the hardest part, getting the comforter into the casing.
The plastic bag really helped guide those first feet, but the rest was "scrunch and pull" the whole way. I turned on the news and amused myself while I worked away at stuffing the comforter. This one part took close to 30 minutes. But once done, I made ties of the fabric and tied the ends, candy-roll style.
Now on to draft snake no. 2 -- the one for the kitchen doors. (to see draft snake no.2 here and draft snake no.3 here)
