How To Make (and sew!) A Heavy-Duty Door-Stop

With windows open in the summer and fresh air blowing through sometimes a gust of wind comes through and...BAM!... the door slams shut. Well I once heard a wise saying that things in the home should be both "useful and beautiful". Though I've chosen to make mine a bit plain, I think this fits into both categories. You can use whatever fabric fits your taste and you can add any sorts of things to make it pretty. Maybe glue a fake flower on top? Or perhaps flop down a little stuffed animal? You choose.

I'll admit right up front, this is a little bit of a difficult sewing project, but it's not too bad. Hopefully I explained it well enough! This is how to turn a plain old brick into an artsy door-stop.

Note that I used a pair of old jeans and kept one of the seams for a neat look - so ignore that seam when you're following the steps in the pictures! Also note that in the pictures below I am not sewing my stitches while it is on the brick, I am taking it off every time I stitch and putting it back on for the picture. Hopefully this way you can tell what I am doing more easily. As always, be patient and have fun. Enjoy!

You'll need a brick of desired size.

You'll also need some cloth (I've chosen jean).

Be sure you have plenty of fabric to work with. Think of how much you need when wrapping a present. Be sure the pretty side of the fabric is facing in towards the brick during the entire pinning and sewing process!

Fold jean over both sides.

Fold over the edges shown here...

...pin...

...both sides.

Then stitch the hems all the way down each side of the fabric.

Lay both hems right next to eachother for this step. Pinch the material together from the top and bottom layer to close off the end.

Pin and stitch end closed. (Be sure your hemmed edges are laid neatly next to eachother, not like this picture - otherwise your opening won't close well. For another option you can even overlap the hemmed edges about 1" to close up the hole a little more if desired. I didn't overlap, nor were my hems hanging open when I stitched (for some reason I thought the picture would be better if I pulled it open) - see the final picture for how mine turned out.)

This part is a bit hard to show and describe. There is a little flap of fabric that sticks out at the edge of the brick. Pinch this, pin, and sew together.

Here is what the stitched flap looks like off of the brick.

The stitched flap gives this crisp edge.

Do the same thing on the other end, cut off excess fabric, and voila! A heavy-duty, yet decorative brick. Experiment with any fabric kinds and colors to personalize it to what you want!