Laundry DIY: Making Dryer Balls

I’ve been dying to try making my own dryer balls, and after stumbling on some skeins of wool at Michael’s discounted to $1.99, I knew they were my destiny. < Tres corny, I know!

I used Martha Stewart Crafts Roving Wool, which is 100% wool. I wasn’t sure if this wool would work, but I knew it HAD to be 100% to do this project and given the price of wool, I decided I would give it a go.

The first thing I did, was wrap it around two fingers about 8-10 times to give me a base. Then, I carefully took it off, and began to wrap the wool around the base, making a little bow shape.

Keep wrapping it around and around itself, changing directions to keep a round shape. When you’ve reached the size you’d like, it will look something like this.

Cut your yarn leaving a little string. Using a crochet hook, I pull the end string under a couple of layers to fasten it off. Cut off any excess string as close to the ball as possible. The end result is this.

Now, you need a pair of tights or pantyhose to “felt” them. I used a pair of Grumpers tights and stuffed the balls into the legs. I tied a piece of ACRYLIC yarn in a knot in between each ball. Using acrylic is important because if you used wool, it will also felt around your pantyhose. I did not take a photo of the stuffing process, because I did them last night and I am not allowed to use the tights today for a photo. (Go toddler!) But, I think you can picture tights, stuffed with wool balls each with a tie off in between them to keep them secure.

Throw them in a wash cycle of very HOT water with a COLD rinse. I washed mine in a load of bath towels. When your cycle is finished, throw them in the dryer, again on a hot setting. When your towels are dry, take them out and cut the ties. Open up the tights/pantyhose and pull out your wool balls. They will look like this.

I have read that sometimes you may need to put your balls through another cycle or two to get a nice felt. You will know they have felted properly because if you run your fingernail lightly across a strand on the ball, it won’t move. Mine seemed to look okay, so I just tossed them in with my next load, and they worked great! The more of them you use, the quicker your loads of laundry dry. I have four that have gone through the wash/dry stage, and I made some more up today that I intend to felt the next laundry day.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to make dryer balls. If you have any questions, please ask!

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