Felted Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls are said to cut down on drying time in the dryer. They bounce around with your laundry helping to separate it and improve air circulation. If you add a few drops of essential oil to them, they can scent your laundry like dryer sheets do.

I couldn't believe how much wool dryer balls were going for ...$18...$30...no thank you! Especially when you can choose from one of the MANY tutorials all over the internet.  I used the tutorial from These Light Footsteps.

This is a very quick and easy project. My dryer balls were made and put into service within a few hours.

I picked up a bag bag of wool yarn at a thrift store for about $3. This was all labeled "Tapestry" and "Needlepoint" yarn but it was all 100% wool.

Since the yarn was thin, I mixed colors and put 4 strands together to wind my yarn balls.

The end of the yarn was tucked into the ball.

All of the yarn I bought made 4 balls.

After running them through the hot dryer a couple times, I had felted wool dryer balls!

For the initial drying period, the felted wool balls were put into old pantyhose with a knot tied in the hose between each ball. This kept the balls from felting to each other. 30+ laundry loads later and I haven't used a single dryer sheet.

I have noticed the lighter loads of laundry drying a little faster but heavier loads (towels, denim, etc) don't seem to make much difference.

I think next time wool goes on sale, I'll pick some up and make some felted wool dryer balls to give as gifts.