Adventures With Four

  • Faith
    • Bible Study Reviews
  • Eat
    • Breakfast
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
    • 21 Day Fix
  • Celebrate
    • New Years
    • Groundhog’s Day
    • Dr. Seuss Day
    • Valentines
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
      • Elf On The Shelf
  • Grow
    • Play & Learn
    • Play in the sun
    • Play in the leaves
    • Play in the snow
    • {DIY} crafts & other fun things
      • Photo Booth Props
      • printables
      • {DIY} fails
  • Live
    • Save you money
    • Blogging & Writing
      • Reviews, Giveaways & Guest Posts
    • Mommy Guilt
      • {Bucket List}
      • 10 Day You Challenge
      • 30 things my kids should know about me
  • About Heather
    • Policies & Disclosures

{DIY} Felted Dryer Balls

09/16/15 | {DIY} crafts & other fun things

{DIY} Felted Dryer Balls

 Felted dryer balls are all the rage in {DIY} circles and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.  Now I know what the big fuss was about…. and after I spill you will never have to buy over-scented dryer sheets or bulky bottles of fabric softener again.   These nifty little felted gems reduce static cling and cut your clothes drying time,reduce wrinkles and save you money.

A week ago what I threw into my dryer would be the last thing on my mind.  Stuff wet clothes into the dryer, pull dry clothes out.  Fold, repeat. Completely mind numbing and, I was ok with that.  As long as it works who cares right?  Wrong. What started out as a simple Facebook  rant a few days ago has taken me down a path I had never in a million years though I would ever take but looking back on it now I can’t believe I waited so long to “jump on board”.

I love my fabric softener but when I realized how much I was paying and how often I had to replenish my supply I knew that something had to change. Why was I so comfortable with spending $7.00 every other week for a product that you throw away after each use.  I guess because that’s how it’s always been done around here.  When I was a kid my mom would rip one in half or re-use the one we had in the dryer to get more “bang for your buck”.  Did you known that you can  make your own dryer balls for the price of one bottle of fabric softener but your dryer balls will last for years. Yes, you read that right.  YEARS. 

I can’t believe I waited so long to try felted dryer balls in my dryer that can easily be scented with essential oils to leave your fabrics soft and smelling fabulous.  

{DIY} Felted Dryer Balls  in four steps:

What you need: 

100% Wool yarn or other 100% animal yarn

Pantyhose 

Four

Four easy steps!

1.Take the end of the yarn and wrap it around your middle and index fingers 10 times.  Remove it from the fingers and then wrap 2-3 times around the middle ( it should look like a bow)  This will be the start of your ball.

2.  Keep tightly wrapping the yarn around the start, working toward making a round shape.  Once your ball is roughly the size of a tennis ball, cut the yarn and tuck the ends into the sides of the ball.  Repeat this process until you have created four or more balls of yarn.

3. Cut one leg off of the pantyhose.  Place one ball into the bottom of the leg and tie a knot right above the ball with the pantyhose to secure it in place.  Repeat until all the balls have been added and secured. 

4. Once the balls are tightly secured in the pantyhose, put them in the washer and wash on the hottest setting.  This will allow the yarn to felt ( Felting will make the yarn fuse together, resulting in a solid ball.) Dry  thoroughly in the dryer at the highest heat setting. After the balls are completely dry, remove them from the pantyhose and they’re ready for use.  

Before drying your next load of laundry, add your favourite essential oil to 4-6 felted dryer balls, toss them in the dryer, and enjoy the soft, fluffy wonderful-smelling laundry!  

I use about 5-10  drops of essential oil per ball should last a few loads. 

The scent is more noticeable with smaller loads and with the more balls that you use, so you can play around with it a bit to find your preference.

Here are some ideas for scents:

Lavender & Citrus Bliss

 peppermint and lavender 

Grapefruit & Lemon

Cinnamon& orange 

When it starts to smell dull, then add a few more drops of essential oils.  IF you want to change the scent, then continue to use the felted dryer balls until the scent wears off and start the process all over again.  

Easy Peasy, right?  

Looking for Essential oils? 

 

Comments | 31 comments

Subscribe!

« Strawberry & Blueberry Fruit Leather
8 free math websites for kids »

Comments

  1. Lorane says

    September 24, 2015 at 1:43 am

    I saw these all over Pinterest and decided to make one and It was so easy. I already had Felt and added my own scent from my growing collection of of essential oils

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    September 23, 2015 at 11:31 pm

    I need to look into doing this. I am not much of a DIY person, but I think I could manage!

    Reply
  3. Mama to 5 BLessings says

    September 23, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    What a great idea! I Great for the environment and on the pocket book too!

    Reply
  4. Kimberly Dickerson says

    September 23, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    Felted dryer balls have been on my crafting to-do list forever it seems. With winter quickly approaching, I think I need to order some more wool felt. Jackets and sweaters in the dryer KILL my electricity bill. Thanks for the tutorial!

    Reply
  5. Leslie says

    September 20, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    I have a problem with musty laundry. I bet these would help!

    Reply
  6. Rosey says

    September 20, 2015 at 7:16 pm

    We use these. I like that they cut down overall dry time. Anything that saves money is aokay in my book.

    Reply
  7. Kid Minds says

    September 19, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    Mmmm…. grapefruit and lemon would be my pick! Thank you for sharing your creative idea!

    Reply
  8. Kim @ This Ole Mom says

    September 19, 2015 at 4:52 am

    Wow! That is the neatest thing ever!! I need to try making those dryer balls. Sounds so interesting!!! Pinned!!

    Reply
  9. Amy @Planning Playtime says

    September 19, 2015 at 2:25 am

    My friends made these recently. I heard they’re awesome!

    Reply
  10. Mary says

    September 18, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    I had no idea these could be made at home! Thank you for posting this!

    Reply
  11. Leah says

    September 18, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    These are really cool! Will have to try this out!

    Reply
  12. Elizabeth Towns says

    September 18, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    I love dryer balls. My son loves experiments. This will be our next project together and I am sure he will love it!

    Reply
  13. Adrienne says

    September 18, 2015 at 6:05 pm

    This looks like so much fun, and I know my son would love them.

    Reply
  14. Emily says

    September 18, 2015 at 5:38 pm

    I love this! What a great idea! I just recently am learning about essential oils too, so I’m super excited to have another great use for them! Thanks! I’ll be sharing this!!!

    Reply
  15. shweta says

    September 18, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    That’s amazing and useful. I never knew these are easy to make

    Reply
  16. Censie says

    September 18, 2015 at 3:38 am

    I have heard good things about dryer balls, I think I need to make some to try out. thanks for the DIY!

    Reply
  17. Megan says

    September 18, 2015 at 2:29 am

    Very cool! Can’t wait to try these!

    Reply
  18. Claudia Krusch says

    September 18, 2015 at 1:50 am

    Those are amazing. I am all about saving while keeping a fresh scent on your clothes!

    Reply
  19. Dawn says

    September 18, 2015 at 12:43 am

    I have always wanted to make my own dryer balls! These are prettier colors as well!

    Reply
  20. Megan says

    September 18, 2015 at 12:19 am

    What an awesome idea and a cute gift, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  21. Helene Cohen Bludman says

    September 17, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    Interesting! I will have to try these instead of the dryer sheets I use.

    Reply
  22. Rebecca Bryant says

    September 17, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    Those are amazing. I am so into DIY dryer things to save money.

    Reply
  23. Tiffany (NatureMom) says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    I love my felted wool dryer balls. I use tea tree oil on them usually, especially anything that once smelled musty.

    Reply
  24. Jessica Harlow says

    September 17, 2015 at 6:39 pm

    I have a set of wool dryer balls and love them. You aren’t kidding that it really does cut down on dryer time (hence saving money too)! I love that you made your own felted dryer balls!

    Reply
  25. Janeane Davis says

    September 17, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    this is such a great idea! I would like to try this and then do different scents for each person in the family. It is a cool idea.

    Reply
  26. Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says

    September 17, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    I totally want to try these. I think it would save me tons in dryer sheets.

    Reply
  27. Jen V. says

    September 17, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    I made some dryer balls several years ago and they are still going strong. I have saved a lot of money on dryer sheets since I started using them.

    Reply
    • Liz Mays says

      September 18, 2015 at 12:00 am

      That’s good to know. I wouldn’t mind cutting down on laundry costs by using these.

      Reply
  28. Courtney says

    September 17, 2015 at 5:49 am

    This is such a cool idea. I use tennis balls when drying pillows to help fluff them so I wonder if this would help too. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  29. Liz Mays says

    September 17, 2015 at 1:06 am

    Oh cool! I wouldn’t mind having a few of these handy with some nice scents. Great idea!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Do it yourself: Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe says:
    September 28, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    […] you read that right.  YEARS.  Follow this step-by-step tutorial to make your own  felted dryer balls that can last for many years, and best of all, can easily be scented with essential oils to leave […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Copyright © 2022 · Adventures with Four · All Rights Reserved