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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Puppy on guard against cold

Draft puppy is made of the right stuff to fight cold.King Features (King Features / The Spokesman-Review)
Donna Erickson

It’s a new puppy! It’s a soft toy! It’s a draft buster! Yes indeed, it’s all three, and the adorable soft puppy will love to come into your home to keep some of fall’s and winter’s chilly drafts from breezing through doorway cracks and windows.

It’s super easy to make, practical to use and fun to give for a holiday gift. Make a litter! No matter where the people on your gift list live, they’ll love to bring one into their home.

Here’s the stuff you’ll need:

•A pair of new, long tube socks

•Scraps of fabric, fiberfill or outgrown leggings and tights with elastic waistbands removed for filling

•Needle and thread in the color of the tube socks

•Decorative craft supplies such as buttons, felt, pompoms, ribbon and fabric paint

Here’s the fun for adults and kids to do together:

1. Stuff the two tube socks with scraps of filling material. Show your child how to place the filling all the way to the toe end of each sock first and continue to fill until it almost reaches cuff area.

2. Sew the socks together at the cuffs (overlap them an inch or two) with a whipstitch to form a long tube.

Extra tip: If you are making it to fit snuggly in a windowsill, measure the length of the space first. Proceed to fill the socks to equal the total length of the draft buster when the two socks are combined at the cuffs.

3. Create the head of your puppy. First, sew large buttons on one end to make eyes. We added two tiny blue buttons on top of the center holes of two white buttons, and sewed them together first before attaching to the face.

Sew or glue on felt for floppy ears, pompoms for a nose. Create a mouth with fabric paint. Tie on a bright ribbon to make a collar. Add a felt tail.

Give your puppy a name, such as “Buster,” and tuck it in a windowsill or along the bottom of a closed door to help keep out a chilly draft.

Or, if you are giving a puppy or a litter of puppies away for homemade holiday gifts, add a nametag to the collar ribbon with puppy care instructions.

Donna Erickson is the author of several books about family activities and host of a public television series. See more at www.donnasday.com