DIY Door Silencer – Never Wake a Sleeping Baby Again!

Baby Chester is going through the “slamming doors” stage of his babyhood. He turned a year old last week, and since he’s still not walking (oh Lord, help me!) he’s currently causing mischief by getting into EVERYTHING that is not glued down. His favorite thing is to wait for someone to open the baby gate so he can sneak through it and spend the next five minutes repeatedly opening and closing it.

He does the same thing with doors. Open, slam shut! Open, slam shut! It’s what babies do, I guess.

In fact, it seems like his newfound enthusiasm for slamming doors is rubbing off on his brothers. They now seem to have figured out that their bedroom HAS a door (a fact we have tried to keep hidden from them so they’d leave it open and we could keep an eye on their play). As a result, about twenty times every evening, we can hear the windows of the house shake as they slam the door shut. It is usually followed by screaming and crying as one or the other of them has hit, kicked or pulled the hair of  the other out of mom and dad’s watchful eyes.

More frustrating than that is when we’ve put them all to bed (they currently share a room), and one of the older kids gets up and slams the door, waking the baby and extending our evening by at least two hours.

So what is a frazzled mom to do, eh? Easy! Create a super simple DIY Door Silencer!

The great thing about this (besides being easy to make and keeping doors from being slammed) is that it helps protect itty bitty fingers from being caught in the door. Sadly Baby Chester has learned all about that recently, getting his tiny digits caught in doors, drawers and even between floor boards! Poor kid.

So here’s how to make it.

Supplies:

1/4 yard of fabric
fat quarter of either batting or fleece
thread
scissors and/or rotary cutter (will need a cutting mat if using a rotary cutter)
ruler
Iron and ironing board
straight pin needles

Directions:

First, take your desired fabric and cut two 6in x 6in squares.

Next, cut two 6in x 6in squares of batting or fleece.

Cut four 9in x 1 1/2 in strips out of your fabric.

With your iron hot, take your strips and fold both edges inward until they meet in the middle. Press down with the iron to create a crisp seam.

Take the ironed fabric and fold in half and iron again.

After folding, sew a straight line down the middle of each strip. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each strip. Once you have done this for all your strips, you have your door ties.

HINT: If you are not great at sewing, you can use sewing tape to keep it together. It won’t be as strong, but it’ll work!

The next step is to lay out your fabric, batting (or fleece) and ties. You’ll want the batting first, then the fabric with design facing up, and then your ties. The two ties should be on top of each other on opposite ends and facing inward. Pin them about 3/4 inch inward to ensure proper placement. Then your last fabric square should be on top with the design facing down.

Pin about 3/4 inch inward all around the square. As you come to each of the ties, unpin them from between the fabric and repin them (in the same spot) on top of the fabric.

Starting on either the top or the bottom (not the sides with the ties) start sewing with a 1/2 inch inseam, removing pins as you go. Be sure to do a few back-stitches when sewing over the ties, as this is the area that will get the most tension. Do not sew completely closed. Leave about 3 inches.

Turn your door silencer right side out through the three inch gap. Where the opening is, use your iron and fold rough edges inward, then press and pin.

Sew with a 1/4 inseam all around the outer edge of the door silencer to give a finished look.

Tie around door knob.

No more slamming doors! No more kids getting themselves locked in a room! No more squished fingers!

And the best part is, it is totally portable, easy to remove so you can switch it up between doors. Or do yourself a favor and make a few at a time and leave them wherever you notice the kids playing.

Check out these Sewing Hacks from Andrea’s Notebook for more tips and tricks!

Katie Reed

Katie Reed is a passionate writer and mother of four vivacious boys from Salt Lake City, Utah. Drawing from her own journey through TTC, pregnancy, and the joys of raising children, she offers a wealth of insight into the world of motherhood. Beyond her heartfelt tales, Katie delights her readers with family-friendly recipes, engaging crafts, and a curated library of printables for both kids and adults. When she’s not penning her experiences, you’ll find her crafting memories with her husband and sons—Dexter, Daniel, Chester, and Wilder.