Wool Dryer Balls - Mammy Made

Hi everyone. I'm Adele and I live in England with my two gorgeous babies, Leyla who is 4 and Naomie who is 3. I am so excited to be contributing to Inspiration Cafe again today!

I usually blog over at Mammy Made. I like to write about crafting, cooking and homeschooling, although I am only homeschooling part time at the minute. I have tons of tutorials on there so come by and say hi, I’d love to see you!

This month I would like to share a tutorial for some wool dryer balls I made a few years back. I wanted some for my tumble dryer as I heard that they made the clothes softer and reduced drying times! They also cut out the need for dryer sheets, saving even more money.

I should add that this is by no means my own pattern, people have been doing this for years and years, I just thought I'd share how I did it in case someone else wants to make some too :)

I used about half a skein of wool for each ball, about 50g. Make them whatever size you like, I went for tennis ball size since I figured they'd shrink a little bit when being felted. Make sure you use 100% wool, and make sure its not machine washable or it wont felt properly!

Make a ball in whichever way you find easiest. I wound some round my fingers, wrapped the middle with the yarn, then folded that onto itself and wrapped again. I found that this made a good base for my ball. Do it whichever way feels most comfortable. 

Make sure to hold the ball close to your lap so if you drop it, like I did a million and one times, you (hopefully) won't drop it onto the floor and have to watch it roll around unravelling while you madly try and catch it. When you're done making your ball, weave the ends in with a wool needle, knotting several times to secure the ends. 

I used an old pair of tights to felt my dryer balls. I cut one leg off an old pair of tights then put a ball into the foot. I tied it off with a scrap of acrylic yarn then added the next ball. I made five in one sitting before my hand started hurting and I gave in and chucked them in the wash. Put them on a 60 degree wash with a couple of towels or jeans to roughen, then put them in the dryer on full heat for 1hr.

If they do not seem felted enough after the drying time, you can put them in a second wash and dry, without the tights.

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. Thank you so much to everyone behind Inspiration Cafe for letting me contribute again. It's been fun.