DIY Draught Excluder Snakes

There’s nothing worse than sitting in a comfy chair at home during the winter months whilst relaxing with a book or TV show and feeling a cold, drafty air flow through the room. Brrrr! Not only is it uncomfortable but it’s definitely not friendly on the monthly heating bill. One of my favorite ways to conserve energy and combat that cold, drafty air during the winter is with draught excluders. No need to go out and spend lots of money purchasing one though because today we are sharing how to make these adorable DIY draught excluder snakes and the kids can help too!

These cute DIY draught excluder snakes are a creative and kid-friendly project so on top of helping to conserve energy, they also make a great project for families to enjoy together.

DIY Draught Excluder – Materials:

• tights
• cardboard
• parchment paper
• fabric paint
• sponges
• red yarn
• googly eyes or buttons
• hot glue gun
• scissors
• sewing needle
• white thread
• filler material (we used Polyfil)

How to Make a DIY Draught Excluder Snake:

1. Begin by measuring the width of your door or window seal. Cut one of the legs off your tights making sure it is a length that will span the width of your door or seal. Remember the tights are stretchy so after you fill it up it will end up a little longer. We ended up using a kids size 14 tights and it stretched across our door great.

2. Now cut a strip of cardboard and parchment paper the length of your tights leg. Carefully slide the cardboard inside the tights along with the parchment paper.

3. Cut shapes out of your sponges that you can use to make a decorative pattern on your snake. We chose diamonds. Cut out one shape per color you will be using. Pour some fabric paint onto your paper plate. Dab your sponge into the paint to coat the bottom of it completely and then press it onto your tights. Continue dabbing the sponge in the paint and printing it on your tights filling your snake with the design of your choice. Let the paint dry completely.

4. When your paint is dry remove the cardboard and parchment paper from the inside of your tights. Grab your Polyfil, or the filler of your choice, and stuff your tights full of it.

5. Fold down the ends of the fabric at the opening of the tights and use your sewing needle and thread to sew the opening closed. Children should always be supervised while using sewing needles.

6. To make the forked tongue for your snake, fold a piece of red yarn in half. Make two knots in the yarn about an inch apart. Trim the yarn in front of the first knot so that it looks like the snake’s forked tongue. Then cut off any excess yarn after the end of the second knot.

7. Glue your googly eyes (or buttons) and tongue on the end of your snake with your hot glue gun.

Now your DIY draught excluder is ready for use.

Simply place it along the bottom of any draft area in your home like the bottom of a closed door or a window seal so any unwelcome cold air can’t get through.

Don’t be surprised if you see your kids with the snake wrapped around the back of their neck using it for a play toy too. They are so cute, it’s hard to resist playing with them.

Looking for more ways to conserve energy this winter?

Another thing we’ve been learning about this winter, with the help of Smart Energy GB, is to help with conserving energy. Smart meters are being rolled out in homes across the UK, which come with a handy in-home display that shows you how much gas and electricity you are using in pounds and pence in near real time. Boy do they look fabulous! This helps you see first hand when you are consuming the most energy so you can find situations where you can make changes to reduce it. They also put an end to estimated bills every month. With the real time data you can finally show your kids how much of a difference it makes each day when they actually remember to turn the lights off in their bedroom.

The best part is getting a smart meter doesn’t cost you a thing. They can be installed without charge from your energy supplier. How lovely!

Do you have any tips that your family follows to conserve energy in the winter? Please do share!

This post is sponsored by Smart Energy GB