Wool dryer balls are the best thing for laundry, since the tin foil ball. They help the laundry dry faster, makes it softer and is better for the environment and your family. I have been using them for a month now. My clothes do get static-y if I dry them for too long, especially polyester blends. Even a huge dryer full gets done in about 75% of the time of the “old” way aka dryer sheets. If you want to make your own, the directions are simple.
Materials needed: 100% wool yarn. This one made a tennis ball sized ball and one about half the size. Try to get natural colored or light colored yarn. Some may not be color fast and could bleed onto your clothes.
Wrap the yarn about 6 times around your fingers as shown above.
Slip the loops off your finger and wrap the yarn on the other side about six times. It should look like the above photo. Then wrap the yarn around and around itself, making sure to keep it even on all sides (you don’t want a lopsided one).
Once you have it about tennis ball size, loop the end of the string under some layers of the wrapped yarn. A crochet hook is an awesome tool to help with this. Some blog posts I have read about the wool dryer ball mentioned stopping at golf ball size, then doing the “felting” steps that I am describing next. They then do the “felting” again when it is tennis ball size. This is not needed. It can be done all at one time at the end.
Find an old nylon sock or pantyhose and place the ball in it and tie a knot above it. You can put multiple balls in one sock. Place this in the wash (colors load is probably best) and run it through the dryer. It is best to do this 2 or 3 times before removing it from the sock. This will get it “felted” better. I think that is the correct term. The ball will stay together and should last a very long time. My problem is finding it before I carry all my laundry upstairs, because once they leave the laundry room they may never make it back.
Here is a “finished” product. After awhile the ball may accumulate small pills on it. You can leave them or shave them off, as you would a sweater. To give your laundry some scent to it, add about 6 drops of essential oil to the ball before the dry cycle.
EDIT: SEPTEMBER 2013
I have made extra dryer balls to sell at the craft fairs I attend. Let me know if you are interested! They are amazing! I currently have 3 in my dryer and they cut my drying time by at least 10 minutes.
