So you're all ready to tackle that mountain of laundry only to realize that you forgot to get dryer sheets from the store the day before-yep welcome to my life, lol. Frankly, another trip outside of my home was not going to happen-I was way too comfy in pajamas. I'd seen different DIY pins for dryer balls and thought what the heck why not give it a try! The worst that can happen is I'll have a couple new toys for Blue to bat around.
Hands down these dryer balls are the best thing ever-they took less than 15 minutes to assemble + wash & dry time and cost nothing but the supplies I had on hand. What I really love is that I can choose the scent & intensity that I want-no more stinky dryer sheets! They're good for the environment & you which means no wasteful packaging or harmful chemicals. The lack of scent & chemicals is perfect if you have family members with skin sensitivities....enough chit chat lets get to how to make these little bad boys!
1. Supplies-natural fiber yarn, tapestry needle, nylon sock, washer & dryer. Optional essential oil & decorative applique.
For the yarn it is important that your yarn is at least 80% natural fiber. The fibers have to be able to felt that is bind to themselves.
2. For my dryer balls I used 100% wool yarn. You simply begin making a yarn ball twisting the ball as you wrap so the ball is fairly even. I made mine about the size of an apple/baseball. The balls felt a bit more evenly if they aren't too densely wound-keep a looser wind. You'll want to make 2 dryer balls for an average to large load of laundry.
3. Once the ball is the size you like leave about a 12" tail, thread onto tapestry needle, insert from the side you stopped winding on, straight through to the opposite side (from right to left or left to right if you're left-handed). At this point you can skip step 4 if you're not attaching an applique.
4. I happened to have some wool leaves, already lightly felted, from an old project that I added as a decorative element. Hey if your doing laundry why not make it pretty! Position the applique where you want it. It is easier if the applique is close to the tail end. Taking the tail end attach the applique with a simple whip stitch and then trim the ends. Remember it doesn't have to perfect-think of it as adding rustic charm :-)
6. That was the hard part-pretty easy right? To turn these yarn balls into dryer balls put the ball into the nylon sock. I used old trouser socks (please don't judge, lol), and then tie a knot. You can do as many yarn balls as will fit your nylon sock. Make sure to knot between each ball to prevent them from felting into each other.
Pop the sock into your washer-regular cycle-hot water. The hot water is crucial for the felting process. Depending on the color fastness of your yarn-wash the balls with something old. I threw them in with some old towels. Luckily this yarn was colorfast & didn't bleed in the hot water. Wheww!
7. After washing take out the load of laundry, remove yarn ball from nylon sock, and put it all in the dryer on regular heat. The heat will set the yarn balls & complete the felting process. Once dry you'll have some pretty fab dryer balls that you can use again and again.
After the dryer balls are dry I added about 6-8 drops of essential orange oil for a light scent. You can easily skip this step. I was so happy with how my clothes turned out using the dryer balls. It was just like using dryer sheets only better without all the chemicals and pretty darn cute too!
Now I'm thinking of adding these to my store-let me know what you think!
