Fireplace Draft Stopper: Easy DIY Sewing Tutorial

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Block out cold drafts in fall and winter. Learn how to make an easy fireplace draft stopper with fabric, a pillow, and this sewing tutorial.

As summer winds down, it’s time to start thinking about the cooler weather that’s just around the corner. Do you have trouble keeping your house warm throughout the fall and winter months?

One way to save heating costs is to block cold drafty air from coming through your fireplace vents. Today we’re sharing how to make a fireplace draft stopper using upholstery fabric, a body pillow, and this super easy sewing tutorial. This simple DIY idea would also be useful if you need to sew a door draft excluder or draft blocker to prevent wind from coming under your front door.

This easy sewing tutorial will teach you how to make a fireplace draft stopper. This simple DIY idea uses a body pillow and will help save heating costs and block cold air this winter.

Save money by blocking air drafts

When the weather starts to get cooler, we have a big problem at our house. Cold drafty air starts wafting through the fireplace vent making it cold in our living room. If you’ve got the same issue then this easy sewing tutorial we’re sharing today is for you! We’ll share how we made a DIY fireplace draft stopper to block the cold air.

Plus we’ve found when you use a draft blocker or door draft excluder, it helps save money. Heating a drafty house sure can be expensive, especially during cold autumn and winter months in Michigan where we live.

A fireplace draft stopper helps save heating costs and blocks cold air in the winter. You can easily learn how to make a draft blocker with this simple sewing tutorial.

Every fall and winter, we had the same challenge with our gas fireplace. On cold windy days, frigid air would come blowing through it giving us the chills. We tried blocking the draft by rolling up old fleece blankets or using throw pillows from our couch. But inevitably the dog or one of the kids would bump it and the draft would sneak through again.

Worse yet, the fleece blankets always looked like a big messy pile whenever company came over to visit. Plus it’s difficult and downright costly to keep the house warm with that much of a cold draft coming through all the time. We desperately needed a better solution for a draft excluder than those rolled up throw blankets.

Our next attempt for a draft blocker was to use a body pillow. During my pregnancies with each of the boys, I slept better at night if I curled up around a long body pillow. However, once we were well past both pregnancies that old body pillow was no longer useful. One day I saw the body pillow just collecting dust on a high shelf in our closet when inspiration struck me! It was the perfect size and shape to fit across the bottom of our fireplace.

Learn how to make a fireplace draft stopper. It's a great way to upcycle an old body pillow you're not using any more. Plus by sewing your own draft blocker, you can save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

Now my only problem was the white terrycloth pillowcase that came with the body pillow didn’t go with the rest of our decor. I’m really not much of a seamstress. But I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to sew a pillow cover to make a decorative draft stopper. Out came the sewing machine and in less than an hour I had a beautiful fireplace draft stopper.

Got cold drafty air coming through your fireplace? Block it out by making a DIY fireplace draft stopper using this easy sewing tutorial. Using a draft blocker or door draft excluder also helps you to save on heating costs. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

How to Sew a Fireplace Draft Stopper

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I created this easy sewing tutorial to make a fireplace draft stopper. However, you could easily modify it to make a door draft excluder or draft blocker using a queen or king-sized pillow instead of an extra-long body pillow.

WARNING: Always move the draft stopper to a safe place out of the way whenever you have a fire in your fireplace. Having a large fabric covered pillow like this in front of your vent when the fireplace is in use is a fire safety hazard. 

What You Need: 

Instructions:

Here’s how I made our fireplace draft stopper. Just follow these easy steps and you’ll have one too.

1. Measure and Cut Your Fabric

Measure the body pillow length and width then double it. Iron your fabric and mark your dimensions. Give yourself at least an extra inch of fabric all the way around for the seams.

2. Fold Fabric in Half, Sew the Length

Fold your fabric in half length-wise so the backside of the fabric is on the outside. Pin the edges together and iron the fabric.

Next, use the sewing machine to sew a 1/2″ seam along the length of the fabric. Then turn the fabric right side out.

Turn upholstery fabric inside out and sew along the edge to make a cover for a body pillow. Then use the body pillow as a decorative fireplace draft stopper to help save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

3. Stuff the Body Pillow Into the Case

Since the fabric I bought on clearance wasn’t very wide, I had to fold the body pillow in half length-wise. Then I stuffed it into the pillowcase I just made, sort of like a sausage!

Cover a body pillow with upholstery fabric to make a fireplace draft stopper. Sewing your own draft blocker will help save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

At this point, I left both ends of the fireplace draft stopper open. This allowed me to easily grab the pillow through the opening on the one end as I shoved it through the opening on the other side. Once I was done, I debated about whether to turn in the ends of the fabric on the draft blocker. I decided I really liked the fringe look though!

Fringe on the edge of upholstery fabric adds a touch of flare to a fireplace draft stopper. Sew your own draft blocker to help save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

4. Sew the Ends of the Draft Stopper Closed

Since I decided to leave the fringy ends on my fabric, I just sewed the end closed using my sewing machine.

Sew upholstery fabric into a large pillow case for a body pillow then use it as a decorative fireplace draft stopper. By sewing your own draft blocker, you can save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

Next, I flipped the draft stopper around and sewed the other side closed too.

Colorful upholstery fabric with fringe adds a decorative touch to a fireplace draft protector. You can sew a body pillow case yourself to make a DIY draft blocker to help save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

Then finally I trimmed any stray threads off the fringe to finish the draft stopper.

Sew a pillow case for a body pillow to turn it into an easy DIY fireplace draft stopper. Upholstery fabric gives it a decorative touch. Sewing your own draft blocker for a fireplace or door helps to save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

5. Use Your New Draft Blocker to Stop Drafts

When I was all done, I carried the new draft stopper upstairs from my craft room and put it in front of the vent in our fireplace.

Turn an old body pillow into a fireplace draft stopper. This easy sewing tutorial is perfect for beginners. Plus a DIY draft blocker will help to save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

I love how the new draft stopper looks in our living room. The colors in the upholstery fabric go perfectly with both our fall mantel decor and as well as our winter mantel decor.

This winter fireplace keeps a home warm in winter, especially with a decorative fireplace draft stopper. You can easily sew your own draft blocker using upholstery fabric and this simple tutorial. It will help save heating costs and block cold air this winter. draft stopper | draft protector | draft excluder | door draft blocker

But honestly, I think the fringe on the ends is my favorite part! It really gives the whole draft stopper an extra decorative touch, don’t you think?

A close up of a corner of the fireplace draft stopper I made out of a body pillow.

I’d love to know how your draft stopper turns out! If you post pics on Facebook or Instagram, please tag me @kenarryideas or send me an e-mail so I can see your awesome creation.

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Keep cold air from coming into your home this season. In this easy sewing tutorial, you will learn how to make a fireplace draft blocker. This simple DIY draft stopper idea will help you stay warm and save on heating costs this winter.

Post updated September, 2019.

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2 Comments

  1. whenever i use a pillow i need to fold in half, i fold or roll it up and hand sew it up into that shape. plus, to save sweat and tear’s later, i make a cushion cover liner out of satiny type fabric. i usually use shower curtain fabric. then when it come’s to removing your lovely top cushion for washing, it just slide’s on or off so easily.

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