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Monday, January 27, 2014

Felted Dryer Balls

Winters are dry around here. Dry skin , dry hair, and when you open the dryer it's like a fireworks show in there. We've been on a quest for awhile to find something that will take the static out of our clothes. We were using a dryer sheet, then two dryer sheets and still getting shocked by our clothes! Plus, I'm not a huge fan of all the chemicals in dryer sheets. I looked into those rubbery dryer balls, but found some information that they may release some unpleasant chemicals when they heat up too. So, I decided to try the old felted wool balls method. Want to try it too? Here's how...

You'll need to have some 100 % wool yarn. Make sure your yarn isn't a blend or it will not felt. You will need enough to make 4-6 tennis ball size balls. Also, keep in mind you may not want super dark colors, or if you do, you will need to be sure to wash them enough that they don't bleed on your clothes.

Start by winding one end of the yarn around two fingers, about 10-15 times.

Slip the yarn off your fingers and start wrapping it around the middle of the bundle.

Keep wrapping to make a tight ball.
                   
When you get to the size you want (I did about tennis ball size, you could make them a little bigger to make drying time even shorter) use a yarn needle or crochet hook to pull the end under several layers and then trim off the remainder.        

Then you need an old pair of tights or pantyhose. (I last wore these to my sit-at-a desk office job, I must admit, I smiled a little when I cut them up!) 

 Put each ball into the leg of the tights and tie between each ball with cotton or acrylic yarn or string (don't use the wool, it will felt right to the tights!).       


It will kind of look like a caterpillar!

Put the whole thing in the washer and wash in hot water, then dry on high heat. You may need to do this more than once. I did it three times to be sure it was all felted together really well.

Take them out of the tights/pantyhose, and they're ready to go!

Throw them in the dryer with your next load of clothes, you will be static free, and you won't have to worry about sending your construction-working Hubby off to the job site with princess underpants stuck to the back of his shirt!

Have a beautiful week!

This post was shared over at:
http://www.backyardfarmingconnection.com/
http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/
http://weliketolearnaswego.blogspot.com/
http://thissillygirlslife.com/
http://www.handymancraftywoman.com/
http://www.tillysnest.com/

5 comments:

  1. "you won't have to worry about sending your construction-working Hubby off to the job site with princess underpants stuck to the back of his shirt!"
    I'm sooo glad I didn't have a mouthful of tea when I read that! LOL!!
    I made some wool dryer balls a couple of years ago and they are still going strong! :)

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    1. :) I'm glad to hear they are holding up for you! Thanks for visiting!

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  2. LOL! Princess underpants :-D

    I did wool dryer balls in the past and they were WAY too complicated. Since they are starting to look a bit sad, I'm going to have to try your method (though I am one of those people who gets the ball almost completely wound and then drop it so 2/3 unrolls again).

    If you're interested in sharing more tips, tricks and ideas, I host a blog hop every Friday. You can enter as late as the following Thursday, so you still have time to join in on this one. Hope to see you there!

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    1. Hi Jessica! These are so easy to make, you'll have no problem! :) I'll be over to check out your blog too, thanks for the invite and for visiting me!

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  3. That sounds much easier than I'd expected. We are dry enough here that we usually don't have to worry much about static, but there are days... Thank you for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop; I hope you'll join us again this Thursday.
    Kathi at Oak Hill Homestead

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