Sewing accessories to prepare your home for winter

As soon as the temperatures start to drop, we feel like wrapping ourselves in a plaid amidst soft cushions.

Here are a few ideas to make your house or apartment cosy for winter!

A warm blanket

When we think of a cozy, cocooning winter, the first thing we imagine is a soft blanket!

There are a thousand ways to sew a cozy blanket. First and foremost, you need to choose a fabric and decide on the size you want. The easiest way to do this is to take a throw or blanket you like and reproduce its measurements.

Many fabrics are well suited to making a blanket. You can use boiled wool, faux fur or “plush” fabric, bouclette fabric, velvet and lining, fleece… All these fabrics are easily found in fabric stores or online. Most are made from synthetic fibers such as polyester. Depending on the fabric you use, you may want to line it with soft cotton. However, this is not necessary for fleece, which is already double-sided.

To make your plaid, simply cut the fabric to the desired size, bearing in mind that the standard size for commercially available blankets is 130 x 180cm. You can then hem the edges by a centimeter or two, or sew on a matching bias or braid. For an original touch, you can add a tassel braid.

If you like the patchwork effect, you can make a quilted blanket from your fabric scraps, lining it with fleece to keep it warm. Follow Macachou’s tutorial if you’re just starting out!

You can also follow our homemade tutorial, and sew an extra-warm blanket:

A door curtain to keep out draughts

You’ve probably already seen a door curtain, a very popular item with our grandmothers, and a very practical way of preventing draughts and keeping the air warm in the living room or bedroom. It’s an easy project to make, even if you’re a beginner. It can also be a practical way to use up your fabric scraps, unless you want to match the colors of your interior.

In this festive season, you can also use fabrics in holiday colors: red, green, gold, white…

For this project, you’ll need a fabric (preferably thick enough to block out the cold) and absorbent cotton. If you don’t have wadding, you can fill your boudin with pieces of fabric.

You can follow Mondial Tissus’ tutorial for a door curtain made up of a multitude of little houses, or our homemade tutorial for a double curtain that fits on either side of the door!

Soft cushions

If you buy fabric to sew a plaid, you can keep enough to make matching cushions. Any type of fabric can be used for this project: velvet, cotton, plush, fleece, boiled wool…

All you’ll need is two squares or rectangles of fabric, depending on the shape you prefer, and some absorbent cotton or a cushion cover, which can easily be found in fabric stores. You can also take two different fabrics for the front and back of the cushion and personalize it with embroidery, bias or piping.

Head to Mondial Tissus’ tutorials to find three ways of assembling your cushion, according to your level and desired effect.

A teapot cover to keep drinks warm

Winter means tea! To keep your beverage at the right temperature, you can sew a tea cosy or teapot cover which, as its name suggests, covers the teapot and prevents the heat from escaping. For this project, we prefer to use a fabric that won’t be altered by temperature: cotton, linen… Between the main fabric and the lining, we insert a fleece.

If you’re looking for inspiration for your own tea cosy, take a look at Rose’s embroidered needles tutorial. If you’re just starting out, simply use the measurements given and skip the customization stage.

You can also use Kristin Esser’s free pattern which explains how to adapt the project to the dimensions of your teapot. The article is in English, enjoy !

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What do you feel like sewing for winter?