It’s February in St. Louis. We all know what this means. It’s cold. While this winter hasn’t been near as bad as last year, we’ve had plenty of cold snaps & I’d be willing to bet we’re not done yet.
Last year was our first winter in this house & we scrambled to replace caulk & weather stripping around windows to keep out the drafts. But no amount of caulk can help our wood burning fireplace. If you sit within a few feet of the hearth, you can actually feel a cold breeze. Argh.
We threw a giant cushion in front of it last year. It *sorta* worked but it was embarrassing & unsightly. As winter approached this year, I knew I had to figure out a better solution.
I give you my fireplace draft cover! (This works best for fireplaces with enough metal around it for magnets to stick…if your fireplace doesn’t have this you’ll have to get creative!)
You will need:
Felt (cut to the width of your fireplace x double the height)
8 Super strong craft magnets (like these but not 100!!)
Thread to match your felt
Measure & cut felt to proper size for your fireplace.
Fold felt in half the “hamburger way.” (If you don’t know which way I mean, well, you obviously didn’t go to elementary school with me.) Evenly space 6 craft magnets inside the fold. Sew around each magnet to secure in place.
Sew sides shut. Before sewing the bottom shut, space the final two magnets where you’d like them & sew in place.
Sew bottom closed. Use magnets to adhere your new draft blocker to your fireplace!
It has made SUCH a difference. There’s no more breeze in our family room, which is awesome! We only have to kick on a space heater when it’s a super duper cold morning, which luckily we’ve had very few. Thank goodness!
How do you beat the cold & save your heating bills from being atrocious?
Did you use regular craft felt or wool???
I’m sure you could use either. I’m not totally sure what I bought to tell you the truth. Hmmm