making draught excluders - what to fill with and do you line them?

[eeky]

ok,so the boiler broke down on Christmas Eve, and we are consequently trying to make our very draughty house (which we have yet to renovate 6 years after buying...)a little more economocal until we can afford a new boiler in a month or two.

I got a sewing machine for Christmas and am starting off with draught excluders. Lots of options for making them on t'internet - I was intending to make simple tube and stuff with old rags or kapok. Better suggestions seem:

put fillling in cheap cotton/calico liner so that you can remove casing to wash

put 2 or 3 widthways straps on and attach to the door (not sure how, saw this on a site selling them) so that you don't have to kick back into place every time door is opened

Fillings:

rags/kapok/old sheet or towel
(cheap but not heavy enough)
sand (higher chance of leakage???)
Rice(we have mice occasionally though...)
Lentils (ditto)
Fuller's earth
Wheat grains (like those heat bags)
Dried lavender mixed with any of the above for nice smell and insect repellant-ness

Anyone got any tried and tested versions? I have lots of old troder leags just waiting to be used!

My granny used gravel to make hers, although a local business makes glass chips now from recycled glass and I'd be tempted to use that instead.

You might find something suitable in a tropical fish shop/pet store for use in aquariums?

i would be tempted to go with a double inner, something padded and then something heavy inside that to get the best of both.

i've knitted the outer cover and the ends for them but i was looking on here to see what to fill it with, im going to go with an inner sack and stuff that with cat litter.Its cheaper than the other suggestions i've seen like rice,lentils pasta and anything like that.