Door Double Snake - Scrap Sewing Project

It's been a really cold winter this year, and our apartment is draughty as they put wooden flooring throughout and little direct sun.

When we moved in in Spring, this was fine - preferred in fact. Now we're in a record breaking winter and can't seem to keep rooms warm. 

I had started using a doona (duvet) cover as a door snake in our bedroom as there is an inch gap underneath thanks to the flooring change. 

Each day I would wake up and think, okay I need to make a snake for that. 

And then when I went to bed, I'd think, tomorrow I will make a snake for that. 

Finally the stars aligned and I remembered during the day and ransacked my remnants and scrap fabrics. 

I had some left over outdoor fabric which I'm hoping will be a bit more durable.

I measured the length of the door from jam to jam, roughly 80cm. 

Then the width of the door, roughly an inch.

Now, why would I need the width of the door, a snake just gets pushed against it right?

Right, except I didn't want just a normal door snake. I wanted it to be hands free and move with the door as it opens and closes (I hate being settled in bed and realising the snake isn't in place). I saw some foam store bought options where they had two pipes and a band between. Genius! 

So that's what I did.

(7 minute read)

Double the snake, halve the hassle

I didn't think of taking photos until I was a fair way into the project. 

I started off with making sure I had fabric wide enough for the width of the door; thankfully the remnant I'd chosen was already a rectangle 80cm wide (it would have been better at 84cm for seam allowance, but it turned out fine).

Next was deciding how big each tube would be. 

We have a snake on the front door already, so I took a rough measurement of that (about 13cm), added seam allowance and folded the fabric over and pinned the edge along. 

I marked a gap for the width of the door and repeated the first measurement out on the other side. I cut that line; using the pattern as a guide as I wasn't too fussed about precision on this. 

I folded that side over too, pinned it down and and grabbed my sewing kit.

The math

My sewing machine is currently unavailable - okay it's buried in the naughty corner after problems with a dress a couple months ago. So this would be a hand sewn project - it is faster than you expect. 

Rather than deal with folding the right sides together, sewing then turning inside out, I just decided the side with the seams would be on the floor. If it became a problem, a second piece of fabric with seams folded under and sewn down would also hide the edges. 

I started with a whip stitch along the raw edges, then a running back stitch as further support. 

Hasty work in progress shot with my chaotic hand sewing

While working on it, I was kept entertained by a wonderful artist on Twitch, morgue_than_you who you should check out if you enjoy beautiful and creepy art work. Their Instagram is here: MortuaryOfArt

Once I had the inner seams completed, I sewed the end closed on one side by folding the raw edges inside and did random stitches to close that up. This fabric really wants to fray, so I am not sure how this will go in the long run. 

I then started stuffing it and tested if it fit under the door as I wanted. It should fit around the door and move with it; without a gap between the door and snake. 

Definitely cropped from the same photo as the last

As for what I used for stuffing, I keep a small box in my craft room and add all tails and cabbage from crochet and sewing projects rather than throwing them out. 

I love using this stuff up, in part because it's better than it going in the trash and using a paid material instead, but also the treasure trove of going through past projects. 

So often when digging through I had the thought of "oh yeah! I made that thing." or "hah, that was a failure.". On the top you can see the yarn tails from my Hobbes plushie mentioned in my last blog. That should have been at the bottom, but I found them randomly in my yarn storage area. A snippet of rainbow yarn at the top is from my Ziggy Jumper, which I'll be sharing about in my next blog, so keep an eye out for that.

In the end I did run out and had to use some fabric quarters of iffy colours I had stashed away, but at least this whole project had no new items needed.

Thimble for scale

I used my metre ruler to send the stuffing to the end, add a handful, push it through and make sure it was set, then do another section. Working along until it's consistently stuffed. 

It's hard to add stuffing lower down once too much is at the start, so if you're doing a similar project be sure to work in sections until the end. 

Once one side was fully stuffed, I repeated the process on the other side. It was easier then as it wanted to lay flat and not flop around. 

All out of stuffing and my handy metre ruler

You can see the raw edges starting to fray from the process of stuffing, and my boyfriend will need to vacuum the couch again thanks to my crafty habits. 

I did a final test with the door, confirming it was holding shape, moving easily with the door, and fit edge to edge without getting in the way - or leaving a gap. 

Thankfully it fit perfectly and I was good to sew it closed. 

I folded the raw edges inside and started whip stitching it closed. I double folded the edge in the middle so that wouldn't keep fraying and did a running stitch to pin it in place. 

On one of the snakes I did have to squeeze the seam flat and do a back stitch along, as I could see it trying to fray the seam apart. That seems to have held it in place and at last, it was done. 

The end of the end

This took one night of chilling at the computer, if using a sewing machine I'm sure it would be much faster. I love how unique it is! 

The before - outside the room

The after - outside the room

From inside the room

It is so satisfying opening and closing the door - having the snake follow without hassle. 

If you have carpet, it may be best with a smoother fabric. I'm not too sure how it would go, but could be worth a try. With hard floors though; an absolute dream. No more draught for us! 

What handy little home goods have you crafted up for yourself? I'd love to hear about them, so drop a comment and tell me your hacks and tricks for a comfier home.

R2D2 Snake 2 too