Wool Dryer Balls

Today was laundry day around here and it started with creating wool dryer balls.  I have read quite a bit about these dryer balls and even bought a few off of Etsy too, but wanted to try my hand at making them to save some dough. 

There are a lot of benefits to dryer balls, the largest being the natural method of helping dry and soften clothes without using the harsh chemicals in dryer sheets or fabric softeners.  In addition to it being a natural alternative, wool dryer balls also cut drying time by 25-50% and help with static in clothing.  To make these from home, I started by purchasing 100% wool yarn from JoAnn's - with a coupon of course! I purchased two balls of yarn and was able to make 5 dryer balls varying in size.  I would prefer to have a total of 8 dryer balls in order to have 4 for each load so I would recommend 3 balls of yarn to anyone looking to make 8 dryer balls. 

To start the dryer ball, wrap the yarn around your fingers about 20 times and then take the yarn off your fingers and wrap it around itself.  Continue to wrap the yarn around itself in different directions to make your sphere shape.  This is a little time consuming and your finger may get sore, but its worth it! :) I stopped about halfway through my ball and added 5 drops of lavender oil for a yummy smell to my clothes.  The lavender should last a while, but you can always add more drops when your dryer balls are complete.  

To finish off each ball, I simply wrapped the end piece of yard around other strands of yarn on the ball.  Once the dryer balls are felted in the dryer you shouldn't have any unraveling.  For a cleaner look, I've heard you can use a crochet needle to pull the string through the dryer ball, but I just didn't care enough or own a crochet needle! ;)

When all of your balls are finished, take a pair or pantyhose and place each ball inside.  In between each ball tie a knot in the pantyhose to keep them separate.  You want the yarn to felt together (almost to where you can't see the strands of yarn) so to do this, put your filled pantyhose in the washer on the hottest setting and then into the dryer on the hottest setting as well.  

 

My balls came out great with one run through the washer and dryer but if you weren't satisfied you can run it through again.  The balls will continue to felt as you use them and will last a loooonggg time! 

Overall for this project I spent $13 (because I didn't have pantyhose!) so it would be about $8-$9 if I decided to make some more.  $13 and no need to buy dryer sheets or fabric softener ever! Yay! Not only does it feel good to save money, but it feels great knowing that I'm keeping my little guy safe of those crazy chemicals on his clothes!  

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

-D.D.D.-