Dryer Balls

Having two kids at home means not a lot of free time and a lot of laundry! I’ve found that my dryer isn’t working as well as I would like and read that 4-6 dryer balls can improve drying and save on electricity costs. So I thought why not make some dryer balls?! Maybe my toddler could help out while the two month old sleeps. I have a good amount of roving in my stash, which is perfect for making dryer balls. If you have 100% wool yarn at home you can use that. No superwash or acrylic!

So here is what you need and a step by step guide to making dryer balls.

Supplies:

Roving or 100% wool yarn (anything that will felt) (45-50 g per ball)

Panty hose

Acrylic yarn

Scissors

Needle felting tool

Washing machine

Step 1: Gather supplies.

Step 2: Start to make a ball with your roving. I just roll some in my hands to make the shape. If you have 100% wool yarn wind that into a ball. For a few of mine I used leftover scraps of yarn from Cascade Magnum to start the ball and then added the roving on top.

Step 3: Keep adding roving and needle felting as you go so the wool starts to felt together. You don’t need to do much since that’s what the washing machine will do for you. The needle felting tool just helps you shape it into a ball. I made my balls roughly the size of a softball. Remember they will shrink a little in the wash.

Step 4: Place the balls into your panty hose. I had knee highs so I was able to stuff three balls into it. I separated each ball with acrylic yarn pulled and knotted tight so the balls did not felt together in the wash. I also tied yarn around the end of the panty hose to keep the balls from coming out into the wash.

Step 5: Wash in the washing machine on high heat. I tossed in some towels at the same time so I didn’t feel like I was washing a load of wash. Repeat step 5 one to two more times. I found two washes did the trick.

Step 6: Remove the panty hose and toss the balls into the dryer. They are good to go!

This is a quick and easy project for an afternoon and even my toddler had fun with it. She made her own balls and with supervision did some needle felting.

Happy crafting!