DIY: No Sew Door Latch Cover

It’s every exhausted mother’s nightmare—you’ve finally rocked and cooed a fussy baby to dreamland, only to have your efforts thwarted by a loud noise that startles him from his slumber. With my second babe, oftentimes the culprit of that cacophony was my toddler innocently closing her bedroom door too aggressively. Whether it’s for the nursery door itself or for those of siblings, this DIY no sew door latch cover is perfect for dampening that inevitable *click* of doom.

Materials: 2.5″ x 3.5″ scrap of thick fabric, fabric glue, permanent marker, ruler, hole punch, 1/2″ wide elastic (at least 11″), clothespin, scissors, bottlecap (optional for rounding corners)

Note: I used marine grade vinyl (found at Joann’s), but leather or similarly thick non-fray fabrics will work just as well. You will only need a small strip, so search fabric store scrap bins for deals.

Begin by measuring a 2.5″ x 3.5″ rectangle on your fabric. Remember to make measurement marks on the wrong side! Cut out.

You can leave the corners square, but I prefer the tailored look of a rounded corner, so I traced a soda bottle cap and cut away the excess.

Next, use your hole punch to create four holes, one in each corner. Keep them about 1/4″ to 1/2″ from the edges.

Cut a length of elastic 11″ long. This will be a tight fit around round knobs, so if you have lever handles you may need to make it more like 13-14″. Thread the elastic through the holes in the fabric as shown below.

Dab a generous dollop of fabric glue onto one end of the elastic. Overlap about 1/2″ of the other end of the elastic on top of the glue and clamp together with a clothespin until dry (approximately one hour).

In addition to dampening noisy doors in your own home, a no sew door latch cover could also be a thoughtful little addition to a baby shower gift. Or better yet, give it to the new “big sister” or “big brother” and save that momma from at least one perpetrator of startled-infant fatigue!