How to make a tartan doorstop

Or rather four lovely doorstops in Stewart Hunting Ancient, Isle of Skye, Stewart Royal and Campbell Clan Ancient.

Last week, our keen crafters returned to tackle a new challenge: doorstops. Instructed by the queen of craft herself, Sarah Quinn-Waddell, of What the Craft, they set about turning tartan fabric pieces into a pretty and practical solution to those darn self-closing doors.

The first task was to sew the four sides together so it was eyes down, feet to pedals and keep fingers clear of those clattering needles. Next a handy handle was sewn onto the top piece of fabric before the top and bottom pieces were attached to the sides, leaving a very important wee gap.

And then, using that wee gap, the fabric was turned through to hide the scruffy raw edges and display the attractive tartan colours. Beautiful! But a bit flat and floppy, definitely not ready to stand up to a door.

They just need some filling up. Rice was funnelled into each fabric case and topped with toy stuffing to create a flat bottom, domed top and a nice full, heavy middle, perfect for stopping those doors. And finally a hush fell over the workshop, as the crafters undertook the tricky task of hand-stitching that wee gap shut.

And voila! Four beautiful tartan doorstops and four happy tartan-doorstop-experts. Our workshops are taking a break for the summer but will be back in the autumn. Don't forget that you can view the range of unique tartan doorstops across on our Tartan and Tweed Accessories page.