Denim Doorstop - Tutorial

In January I made two doorstops - one for the living room and one for my eldest son's room - and now my youngest son asked if I could make one for his room as well. Of course! This time I decided to use fabric from old pairs of jeans, and to write down the instructions and share them here for those of you who would like to make one as well.

You will need:
- six 6'' (15 cm) squares of denim or another heavyweight fabric
(for the previous doorstops I used 5'' squares, but here 6'' was needed to be able to include the pockets)
- matching thread
- sewing machine (a walking foot is recommended for sewing through layers of heavy fabric)
- filling - I used a layer of cat litter (clay) topped up with scraps of batting. You could also use sand, rice, beans etc. (although I would worry about mould and pests when using edible materials as filling)



I cut two plain squares for the top and bottom, and four squares with a pocket for the sides.



Start with sewing the side squares to the bottom square, right sides together, using a 1/2'' (1 cm) seam allowance. Start and stop 1/2'' (1 cm) from the corner and back stitch a few times at the start and end of each side. Make sure the side squares with the pockets are positioned correctly.



The top square will need a handle. I found some baby overalls in my denim stash and used the straps:





Alternatively, make a handle by cutting a 5'' x 4'' (12.5 cm x 10 cm) rectangle of denim and sewing a 1/4'' (6 mm) seam on both short ends. Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, open again, fold both sides in towards the fold in the midline and then fold in half lengthwise again, so you have a 4-layer strip that is 1'' (2.5 cm) wide. Sew together along one side, then sew both short ends to the top square.

Sew the top square to one of the side squares as shown below:



On the right side it will look like this:



Now sew the side seams together one by one to create the cube:



Sew two sides of the top square to the side squares, leaving one side open for turning and filling.



Clip the corners and turn the cube right side out. Insert a plastic bag and fill the cube for about one third with a heavy filling such as cat litter or sand. Tie the bag closed and push it inside the cube.



Fill up the cube with a soft filling such as scraps of batting:





Handstitch the remaining side closed. I use bulldog clips to keep the edges together while sewing:



Finished!



Here is my collection of doorstops. The one made with Dutch postbag fabric is still my favourite:



Do let me know if you have any questions, and if you make a doorstop, I would love to see a pic!