Homemade Wool Dryer Balls

Donna
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 555 Posts

balls and essential oils Homemade wool dryer balls help dry laundry much faster, replace dryer sheets to soften and scent and help fluff clothes.

Using them saves money since the dryer is one of the biggest users of electricity and they shorten the time. Plus they are fun to make and even give as gifts. See how easy they are to make!

Supplies:

wool yarn (Fisherman's Wool is great since you want it to shrink!)
old knee high nylon stocking
optional- essential oils of your choice
optional wrapping- an old orange net bag if you want to 'gift them' to someone

Steps:

I found a skein of wool yarn by keeping my eyes open at yard sales. One skein makes about 5 balls.

Start by wrapping the yarn around your hand about 20 times.

Then continue wrapping the yarn around the center about 20 more times.

Fold in half and continue wrapping it into a ball shape. The ball will shrink to about 3/4 the size it is when done wrapping, so keep that in mind. I made two different sizes...just experimenting!

Finish by sticking the end of the yarn as deeply into the center of the ball as possible.
Slip the balls into an old knee high nylon and tie them in between each one so they don't fall out of the stocking. This will help them hold together and help form them when they shrink down.

Drop them into a hot wash of laundry. Or if you don't use hot water for your laundry, like me, I just dropped them into boiling water on my stove. This starts the shrinking process.

They should go into a warm/hot dryer after they cool down.

I let mine cool, stepped on them gently to squeeze the excess water out of them and added my dryer balls to a load of clothes I was going to dry.
I'd say to do this wet and dry for two washes to maximize the balls' shrinkage.

Now your dryer balls are ready to be thrown in the dryer each time!
I added a few drops of essential oils. I love lavender and peppermint. There are tons of great scents! You could even designate certain balls for certain scents/people!
Even Kmart and Walmart now sell the oils (in their health and beauty section).
I am going to make some for my family members and add a bottle of essential oil to it (as shown) as little gifts! Just drop them into one of those netted bags that come with some produce or make a little cloth bag and slip them in with a ribbon!