Saturday, October 27, 2012

DIY Wool Dryer Balls



Use up the last of your dryer sheets and then never go back!  I got a good alternative for you for the dryer.  Make wool dryer balls!  They take out the static, they keep the stuff in the dryer bouncing around so that they dry faster, plus your clothes aren’t exposed to any chemicals. 


First, find some 100% wool yarn.  It has to be 100%.  It does not matter if it is sheep, alpaca, or whatever…  it just has to be 100% wool. 

Then start making a ball with the yarn.  Keep it tight, and make sure it is being rolled so that it does not come loose after you are done rolling it.  Once, the ball is about 2 3/4 to 3 ½ inches in diameter, stop rolling.  Instead of being picky on the exact size, I just try and make sure I get a complete set of finished wool balls by the time I am at the end of the skein so that there is not any excess yarn.  I can get two equal balls out of a smaller skein and five out of a larger skein.  They will shrink a little once the felting process starts.

Once the balls are finished rolling, tuck the end of the yarn underneath some of the wool.  I always tie a small knot just to be on the same side.  But make sure the ball stays tight. 

Once you have made all the balls you are going to, put then all down into some old panty hose.  If you are like me…  I actually had to go out and buy panty hose to do this.  I did not actually own any.  Cheap ones work great and they will cost less than a $1 at the store.  Once the balls are in the panty hose, tie a another piece of string THAT IS NOT WOOL in between each ball. 

Put the entire string of balls in a pot of boiling water.  You don’t need to let them boil for long, and I add a couple of drops of essential oil to the water just to get it worked into the wool.  Without it, the wool will smell a little like a wet dog. 

After boiling them, toss them into the wash with your laundry and then into the dryer with the load.  Once they go through the dyer, you can pull them out of the panty hose.  They will look felted.  The more times they go through the wash and the dryer, the more felted they will get.  This is very good for the wool ball.  Normally, you would not want to put wool through this process, but this is the exception. 

Add essential oils to the ball to keep it and your laundry smelling fresh, and just use a simple razor to shave off anything that starts to pill.  This is a normal part of the process. 

And you have laundry balls!  Use any color you want to make the wool balls, but be careful with red wool at first.  Wash them separately and don’t put them with whites in the laundry.  Even boil them separately.  After all the excess color has come out, then they should be safe. 

Mountain Rose Herbs is my most favorite place to get herbs and essential oils.  You can find a wide variety of essential oils here. 

And you are done!  No need for any more of those dryer sheets!  

Caution:  Cats, dogs, and small children WILL be highly tempted to play with these!  

1 comment:

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    Thanks.
    Make Wool Dryer Balls

    ReplyDelete