My creative MOJO has been slightly diminished with the current social distancing and threat of the Covid-19 but I think it is coming back. Check out my blog about how I started to regain my focus and get a little bit happier and HOPEFUL here.
Now back to my most recent project. I have a back porch that I really love to utilize but I did not have a screen door until now. This time of year is perfect for letting those spring breezes freshen up my house. It also invites all of the flying critters in. So I decided to do something about it.
I had a few feet of fiberglass screening mesh in my stash believe it or not. I have sewn beach bags with this in the past and it works great if you haven't tried it. It will do fine on your sewing machine. I also had some outdoor fabric with a plastic coating on it. Kind of like that tablecloth material but thicker. It doesn't ravel on the edges either so great for this project.
A Teflon sewing foot helped me guide the fabric and mesh through without any problems.
I laid everything out and used clips to hold the pieces together as I sewed. It was large so I had to take my time.
Now my view from my house is a little different and I love it. The fabric on the bottom makes it look like a screen door. It is not permanent though. So I can remove it in bad weather or when the season ends.
Grommets and cup hooks helped me mount everything. I did have to add a small amount of length to the bottom because I mounted the cup hooks on top of the frame instead of in it. So I would advise you to cut your bottom panel a little longer than what you think you will need just in case you decide it would work better.
Here you see the bottom view and that addition. I used a piece of 1x2 lumber inside a casing to weight the bottom and keep the panel flat as it hangs. Also, it does a good job of making sure that screen doesn't fly into the doorway as the wind blows. Small magnets and hot glue secured the panel so it clicks into place. I had a very windy day to test it out and so far so good.
You can open it easily to step in or out of the door. My dogs have become accustomed to it and they tried it a couple of times but now will just stand there and wait for me to open it. I have used the cheaper screen covers and purchased one each season because they will tear at the bottom. I hope this fabric will increase the time this cover lasts.
Here are the final measurements for the fabric and the screen. You may need to alter these according to your frame and door size. I also did a You Tube Video that you can watch the whole sewing process below. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!
