So the only sweet respite from this infernal and persistent heatwave we’re having in the UK is an occasional nice breeze like we’ve got today. But I realise then that I’ve had a whole load of towels strewn everywhere in doorways, to stop the doors slamming shut from having every window in the house as wide open as possible!

So I googled how to make a doorstop, as you do. Cue about eleventy-billion dog shaped doorstops… ?! #sigh. Why? But then this lovely contemporary, elegant and simple one popped up. Doesn’t use much fabric so is a fabulous stash buster, if you have any stronger more upholstery-strength fabrics lying around. Super easy to make and looks so nice.

The lady whose website post I found is Stephanie at Swoodson Says and she has so many crafty ideas available – lots of them available free on blog posts or opened up when you subscribe, which I quickly did. Great ideas on there that I could try out with my little boy too, as he always takes a keen interest in what Mummy’s doing in her sewing room.

I wasn’t sure what to fill the doorstop with though, as I didn’t want to add to the plastic hell we’re living in now, and organic things like rice/wheat can be problematic if it ever gets damp etc. So I bounced ideas off my husband and we quickly decided to go to B&Q (large UK hardware store for those overseas readers) and see if we could find any nice decorative gravel or chippings. We found some lovely fine, but weighty, gravel which was perfect. And cheap! It’s called Alpine Gold I think.

It then became a whole family project this afternoon. The gravel needed washing and with it being such a hot day, specially in our suntrap back garden, I knew a quick hose down and laying it out on the drive would mean I could make these this evening. Husband and four year old got to work finding a giant sieve thing from the garage and hosing the gravel through the sieve. I then found some old weird fabric I have no use for and laid it out on the drive. It only took an hour or so to dry completely, so pulled the fabric around the gravel and lifted it into a carrier bag so I could take it up to my sewing room.

The sewing element is completely straightforward, then I found a piece of card and a big serving spoon from the kitchen, to funnel the gravel into the opening. I filled it quite full so I tried to machine sew the opening shut but only got so far, so a little spot of mindful hand sewing and I was done.

Hubby came in just as I was doing the last stitches. I let him have a feel of the weight of it and he’s really impressed with how heavy it is and how good looking it is. I weighed it and each little doorstop is a decent 5lb. Plenty heavy enough to hold a door open.

I’ve got enough of this fabric remnant (from John Lewis) to make plenty for all our upstairs doors, but I’ve also dug out the remains of some fabric that has cute little vehicles on it, which I made my little boy’s curtains from. So he’s going to get a doorstop with a fire engine and a race car on it. He wanted two of them (because .. four year-old) and they’re not filled in this photo. I’m waiting till morning so that he can help pour the gravel into the cone and fill it up with me. He’ll then obviously want to take it to nursery to show them! Haha.

Just before Christmas, I made some curtains for the living room downstairs and that room may well have a new matching doorstop by tomorrow evening too! I’m obsessed.

Now for some rain to water our yellow dying grass and we can breathe again! ☀️☀️☀️