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    Easy DIY Felted Dryer Balls

    Updated: Jan 27, 2020 by Annette Browning

    Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may receive a commission.
    See Disclosure for details.

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com
    What the heck are Felted Dryer Balls?

    Dryer Balls are literally balls made of felted wool. Why do you need them?

    Do you use dryer sheets? Did you know that commercial dryer sheets are nothing but chemicals, some of them toxic? That spring fresh scent…not so fresh. Dryer sheets permeate your laundry with chemicals which you then end up wearing! The alternative is all natural wool dryer balls. They help to fluff your laundry, cutting down on static and wrinkles. Plus, they last for years and cost next to nothing!


    (This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, Fiberartsy may receive a small commission)


    Did you see my other Felting Tutorials?

    Part 1 Basic Felting
    Part 2 Cobweb Felting


    Here’s what you need to make your own:


    Wool Roving
    – Any kind (sheep, alpaca, etc), appr. 1 1/2 oz per ball
    Nylon Hose
    Washer & Dryer

    Optional: If you don’t want to use up all of your good roving, you can put something else in the center such as leftover felt scraps, yarn or pieces of an old wool sweater

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com

    Wrap the Roving

    If you’re using all roving, start wrapping it around itself roughly in a ball shape, until it’s about the size of a tennis ball.

    If you’re using something else for the core, wad up that material, tucking in the ends and then begin wrapping the roving around it. In the first photo, I used scraps from an unsuccessful felting project, second photo has old yarn for the core.

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com
    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com
    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com

    Pop em in the Hose

    Once your balls (go ahead and laugh 🙂 )are about the size of a tennis ball, put them in the leg of a panty hose, pull it tight and tie a knot between each one.

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com

    Wash & Dry

    Put your tied up wool balls in the washing machine and wash with detergent and hot water. You can add clothes if you want, just be aware that if your roving is dyed, it may bleed. Once the wash cycle is done, pop em in the dryer. As you’ll see in the next pic, two of mine were fairly well embedded in the hose so you may want to untie them and loosen the hose after the wash cycle and BEFORE putting them in the dryer. But, it’s really not a big deal if you don’t.


    Finishing:

    All that’s left now is to remove the hose. I had to cut off the hose from two of them but the middle one came out just fine. As I said before, it’s really not a problem. Just cut off the hose. The balls should be well felted by now so it won’t hurt anything.

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com

    Ready for action:

    I use about 3 or 4 dryer balls per load of laundry. They just live in the dryer and will last for years. I have heard that you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to give your laundry a pretty scent. Have not tried that myself, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

    Felted Dryer Balls Tutorial - Fiberartsy.com

    Do you use Dryer Balls? What do you think of them?


    And if you don’t want to make your own……….


    Smart Sheep 6-Pack 100% Premium Wool Dryer Balls (XL, Handmade, Eco-friendly, All-Natural Fabric Softener)


    Wool Roving!

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    About Annette Browning

    Annette is a long time fiber artist and former alpaca farm owner. She shares her love of dyeing, felting, crochet and knitting as well as other craft projects.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenni S. --DigitalEraMom says

      April 03, 2014 at 1:19 pm

      My grandmother uses Dryer Balls. I had never thought to make my own! That’s a great idea. I’ll have to make her some for Christmas!

      • admin says

        April 07, 2014 at 8:04 pm

        Great idea! Let me know if you have any questions

    2. Barbara says

      April 05, 2014 at 4:17 pm

      Thank you! I love your tutorial and can’t wait to get started making dryer balls. I have some white roving that the mill didn’t get as much of vm out as I would like – so I will use that.

      • admin says

        April 07, 2014 at 11:43 am

        That would be perfect! I usually just use leftover fiber

    3. Single Mother Ahoy says

      April 06, 2014 at 11:23 am

      Love this! I tried to make some from wool once, but it was mostly synthetic so they didn’t stay together, and tied all my clothes in knots! It had never occurred to me to just use roving! Dur! Will definitely give this a go as I find they help my clothes dry faster.
      Popped over from Ultimate Blog Challenge.

      • admin says

        April 07, 2014 at 11:02 am

        LOL, synthetic fiber won’t work. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by!

    4. Catherine James says

      April 06, 2014 at 11:39 am

      Wonderful step by step instructions. . . I’ll be sharing with my sisters.

    5. Laurali Star says

      April 08, 2014 at 11:24 am

      I have never actually seen anything like this before. Wow. I’m always look for homemade remedies like this. Fabulous!

      Love and luck,

      Laurali Star

      http://www.thesecretsurprisinista.com

    6. Barbara says

      April 10, 2014 at 5:31 pm

      Good reminder to an old felter and even have a bit of roving around. Going to the dryer soon.

      • admin says

        April 11, 2014 at 8:17 am

        Have fun!

    7. Brittany says

      April 19, 2014 at 1:46 am

      Love this idea of having a natural alternative to dryer sheets!

      • admin says

        April 19, 2014 at 10:51 am

        They work great!

    8. Patti says

      June 03, 2014 at 2:52 pm

      I have made these out of roving and wool yarn. My adult sons received them for birthday and Chanukah gifts plus of course, I have my own. I use 6 at a time. I’ve noticed that they keep shrinking so I plan add more yarn to them, soon. My favorite one sits on my desk.:-)

      • Annette says

        June 03, 2014 at 3:37 pm

        Hi Patti,
        I usually uses 5 or 6 as well. Was just thinking I need to make some prettier ones 🙂

    9. Vickie says

      June 03, 2014 at 3:20 pm

      would this be an issue if you have an alergy to wool? Great idea…will try.
      Thanks

      • Annette says

        June 03, 2014 at 3:38 pm

        Shouldn’t be, Vickie. You can also use alpaca roving which is hypo-allergenic.

      • Patti says

        June 10, 2014 at 9:14 pm

        I wouldn’t use wool balls if I had a wool allergy. All this wool touching (contaminating?) my clothes…

        • Annette says

          June 11, 2014 at 8:23 am

          I’m not sure if that would be a problem or not, Patti. But you can always make them out of alpaca fiber which is hypoallergenic.

    10. edith says

      June 03, 2014 at 3:30 pm

      I must really be dense, but what is ” roving?” I’m into saving money but need to know this. thanks

      • Annette says

        June 03, 2014 at 3:41 pm

        Not at all, Edith! I didn’t know until I got into the alpaca fiber business. Roving is fiber or wool that’s been washed and carded (combed) so the fibers all go in the same direction. It’s like a long rope of fiber. This is used for spinning and felting.

      • Patti says

        June 03, 2014 at 3:48 pm

        I bought wool yarn (must be non-washable) with coupon or on sale at Joanns. It’s nice to use a variety of colors.

    11. Mary Dorn says

      June 03, 2014 at 9:14 pm

      Where can you buy roving or do you have to make it?

      • Annette says

        June 03, 2014 at 9:31 pm

        You can search on Amazon or look at the post and click the link in the Supply list for Wool Roving. Let me know if you have trouble finding it

    12. Mary Helen says

      June 04, 2014 at 12:39 am

      Why/how do they work? Does it just need to be a ball? Guess I am one of those “show me” people.

      • Annette says

        June 04, 2014 at 8:03 am

        Hi Mary Helen,
        Wool dryer balls help tumble your clothes which cuts down on dryer time. They also absorb moisture and static. Tennis balls will also tumble your clothes but they release chemicals when heated which natural wool balls do not.

    13. Jess says

      July 11, 2014 at 8:51 am

      what a fantastic idea! definitely pinning this 🙂 xo, jess @ dreamingofleaving.com

      • Annette says

        July 11, 2014 at 1:59 pm

        Thanks Jess! I’ll come visit 😉

    14. Kelli @ The Sustainable Couple says

      July 11, 2014 at 9:03 am

      I would totally douse them in EO’s. Especially Young Living’s Purification!

      • Annette says

        July 11, 2014 at 1:58 pm

        I plan to soak mine in Lemon EO to see how that works.

    15. Karen @ From the Garden Table says

      July 11, 2014 at 9:36 am

      I didn’t know about these, but love the idea of them!

      • Annette says

        July 11, 2014 at 1:58 pm

        They work pretty well!

    16. Deborah says

      July 11, 2014 at 11:05 am

      I have these dryer balls that are little animals (porcupines to be exact) and they work okay. I’ve heard the felt ones are better. I need to make these

      • Annette says

        July 11, 2014 at 1:57 pm

        Interesting! What are they made of?

    17. Bernadette C @Aimless Moments says

      July 11, 2014 at 4:17 pm

      HOW SIMPLE! Thanks for sharing. I am a sucker for smelly stuff and love dryer fresh clothes that smell great. Will be making some this weekend.

      • Annette says

        July 12, 2014 at 8:03 pm

        Thank you Bernadette! You can soak them in essential oil to add some nice smelly stuff 🙂

    18. Nynke van der Werff says

      February 17, 2015 at 1:37 pm

      Thanks for your instructions. I did already made some of old not used wool, but once the wool fell apart so I had my wash tangled in wool. Now I will felt new ones and try again.
      I also like using essential oil.

      • Annette says

        February 19, 2015 at 6:03 pm

        Try using some old wool yarn to help hold it together. Let me know how they turn out!

    19. Linda says

      December 15, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Can you use non wool yarn as the base if you felt the roving over it? Just wondering and didn’t want to try it and waste the roving and time and effort.

      • Annette says

        December 17, 2015 at 4:30 pm

        Hi Linda,
        I’ve never tried felting over non-wool yarn so I honestly don’t know. I have some scrap yarn and roving, though, so I’ll give it a try and report back. Thanks for visiting!
        Annette

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