Optional: To make a snake draught excluder, simply sew on two buttons for eyes and a piece of red ribbon (with a V-shaped piece cut out of one end) for a forked tongue.

Stopping a draught is sometimes what you need more than turning the heating on, a simple draught stopper could save you money as well as stop cold air entering your home. As we're slowly coming up to the colder months, there is no better time to learn how to make a draught excluder for your home with our free sewing pattern and simple tutorial.How does the draught excluder attach to the door? Door excluders and stoppers can either be attached to your door with fabric loops, be fixed to the bottom of your door frame or simply put in front of the gaps to keep the draughts out. You need to consider whether you want one that needs to attach to your door or not, and also think about whether you’ll need to buy any additional hooks to fix it. Use a letterbox flap or brush. Just make sure you measure it first to make sure you buy the right size. You may think draughts are something that just affects old properties, but even newer homes can experience problems with cold air sweeping through. Doors and windows can have even the slightest gap underneath, creating the perfect spot for cold air to slip through.

The benefit of sewing your own draught excluder is that you can personalise the design by choosing fabrics of your choice and can make sure it’s the perfect fit for where you want to use it. You can even embellish it with some pretty hand embroidery or applique patches so that it ties in fully with the rest of your decor.Draught excluders are an essential winter craft. Not only are they super useful for preventing cold air from coming in under your doors and windows, no one likes to be sat in a draught, but they are also key in helping to keep your heating bills down. Before you buy your draught excluder, there are some factors for you to consider, helping you to choose the best one for your needs. The brilliance of homemade draught excluders is that you can make them as long or as short as you wish. If you have a patio door or large window with a draught you can make one to fit from a pair of old curtains. Perhaps you have sash windows? Thin draught excluders that are fitted across the sash prevent the wind whistling in.

The best door draught excluders and stoppers will also keep noise, light, dust and odours from entering your home as well. What to consider when choosing the door draught excluders: Buying a draught excluder will certainly help to stop the cold from coming in the gaps at the bottom of your door, but there is more that you can do to stop heat from escaping. The Energy Saving Trust suggest three other areas for you to consider draught—proofing:

Doorstops and draught excluders and much, much more.

Turn the material inside out so you have a long cylinder that is open at both ends, with the prettier side of the fabric on the outside. Stitch together one of the ends - I did this with a row of stitches about 3cm in. You can fold the material over to stitch it.