Make a draft excluder
You’ll need
- Tights
- Fabric
- Stuffing material, such as toy filling
- Needle and thread
- Pins
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Sewing machine (optional)
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
- Remember to give a safety briefing for the cooking equipment and methods you’re using. You may wish to demonstrate the methods or activity before you all start cooking.
Planning and setting up this activity
- You may want to measure the length of the doorways you’ll be making draft excluders for. The average UK door width is 76cm.
- You could recycle old fabrics, such as old bed sheets. You could even chop a leg off an old pair of trousers if it’s the right size!
- Be sensitive to any of your group’s living situations, as the topic of money or fuel poverty may be difficult for some people. Always let people know about this activity in advance and give people the chance to let you know if they’re not comfortable taking part or any adaptions they may need. Make sure everyone knows they can leave the activity at any point and look out for individuals. You may need to offer reassurance for anyone who’s upset. Always follow the Yellow Card.
Fuel poverty happens when people can’t afford enough energy to keep their homes warm. This can make their house cold and uncomfortable, and it can even make them sick. Staying warm is important, especially when it’s cold outside, and insulation can help a lot with that.
Insulation works like a blanket for your house, trapping the heat inside so it doesn’t escape through the walls, windows, or doors. If a house doesn’t have good insulation, heat can slip out, and people need to use more energy, such as turning the heating on, to keep it warm. This can be a big problem if paying for that energy is too expensive.
There are some simple ways people can keep their homes warmer without using too much energy. Things like using draft stoppers at the bottom of doors, closing the curtains, putting rugs on the floor, wearing layers of clothing, or even using blankets can all help. These small changes can make the house feel warmer without needing to spend a lot of money or use extra energy.
Insulation’s a material that slows down the movement of heat, helping keep hot things hot and cold things cold for a longer time. You can think of it like a barrier for your house or your drink. For example, when you use a flask to keep your soup warm or your drink cold, the thermos is made of insulating material that stops heat from escaping or getting in. Heat naturally moves from warmer places to cooler places. If you have something hot, such as a cup of tea, the heat will try to spread to the cooler air around it. However, insulating materials stop or slowdown that movement, keeping the heat inside the cup. The same goes for cold things, such as ice in a cooler, as insulation stops the warmer outside air from getting in and melting the ice. Insulation acts like a barrier to keep the temperature where you want it—whether that's hot or cold. It also helps reduce energy costs and keeps homes warm, which is especially important for people dealing with fuel poverty.
Running this activity
- Gather everyone together and explain what insulation is. Ask everyone if they know what fuel poverty is and, if not, explain what it is.
- Ask if anyone can think of ways, we can stay warmer while spending less money, such as by using hot water bottles.
- Explain that everyone’s going to make a draft excluder to take home. They can help insulate rooms and keep them warm, as they stop cold air, winds and draughts from getting in under the door.
- Give out the materials and let people choose which one they want to use.
- They should cut the material down to the right size. It should be about 4 cm longer than the doorway and about 25 cm wide.
- Fold the material in half lengthways, so that the pattern is on the inside, and pin it together.
- Carefully sew up the length of the rectangle, as close to where the two edges meet as possible.
- Turn the material inside out and you should have a long cylinder that is open at both ends, with the pattern on the outside. Remove the pins.
- Carefully pin and sew up one of the ends. You can fold the material over to stitch it.
- Cut a leg off the tights and fill it with stuffing.
- When the tight leg is full and just a little bit smaller than your draught excluder, tie a knot in the end.
- Insert the stuffed tight into your draught excluder.
- Carefully pin and sew up one of the ends.
- You may want to sew or glue on some extra bits, such as felt, sequins, buttons or other fabrics. You could also paint the fabrics too.
Reflection
This activity is all about practising sewing and understanding how we can keep our homes warm, especially if it’s expensive to put the heating on. What are some things your going to remember about how to stay warmer at home? Which tips could you tell the people you live with?
Everyone had the chance to practice sewing to make a draft excluder. What was it like? Did you enjoy it? What did you find tricky or difficult? If it went wrong, what did you do? Did you help anyone or did anyone help you? Are you pleased with the final product? What would you do differently next time? Is there anything else you’d like to add? You used your sewing skills to make something practical. What else would you like to make that you think would be useful?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Electrical equipment
Inspect cables for any damage before each use. A responsible adult should supervise people using equipment, and people should follow instructions on how to use them correctly and safely. They should be properly maintained and stored. Be extra cautious of trailing cables and water when using electric equipment.
To make this activity easier, you could pre-cut the materials or pre-sew the tubes, so people only need to stuff and sew one end. You could also use iron-on fixing, fabric glue, knots or staples to avoid sewing all together.
- Always make sure there’s enough time for everyone to have a few goes at this activity, and make sure that there are plenty of adults and/or young leaders to support everyone. You may want to run this activity over multiple sessions, with some extra activities for any early finishers. This means everyone has time to complete the activity in their own time.
- If people find sewing tricky they could use iron-on fixing or fabric glue instead.
- If people find the sewing fiddly, you can use thicker thread or larger needles. You can also prepare parts of the activity in advance, such as pre-threading needles.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
If you enjoyed this activity, check out our other activities in partnership with the Gas Distribution Network.