My eyes are always peeled for alternatives to chemical cleaning solutions. So, when I came across a DIY for making dryer balls from wool yarn rather than the blue plastic PVC alternative, I had to share. If you've got some spare yarn in the house, you'll likely have all the ingredients necessary to rid your garb of static cling, so check it out!
Supplies:
- 100 percent wool yarn (use scraps!)
- Old pantyhose or a sock
- Cotton or acrylic yarn, or string
- Scissors
- Small crochet hook
- Measuring tape
To learn the steps, read more.
Here are the steps, from Good Mama:
- Winding the core. Start by wrapping yarn a few times around two fingers. Then, take your fingers out and wrap more yarn around the bit of yarn. Continue wrapping until you have a small ball. Then, cut the yarn and tuck it under itself using the crochet hook, so it doesn't come loose.
- Felting the core. Put the ball in your pantyhose or sock, and secure it closed with a piece of cotton or acrylic yarn, or string. Toss it in the washer and then dryer on high heat. Once complete, cut the strings and take out your core ball. It should be slightly felted.
- Winding the dryer ball. Wind the ball with more wool yarn until it about the size you want. 10-10.5 inches in circumference is good. Then, tuck the end into itself using the crochet hook.
- Felting the dryer ball. Again, put the ball in your pantyhose or sock, and secure it closed with a piece of cotton or acrylic yarn, or string. Toss it in the washer and then dryer on high heat. Once complete, cut the strings and take out your dryer ball. They should be at least slightly felted, if not completely.
- Use it!. The dryer bell will felt more with use. Toss it in the dryer with your laundry to eliminate static cling without the use of chemicals!


La Petite S*****
Jerome Dreyfuss
Dior Homme
Awesome! Trader Joe's has reusable dryer sheets that are filled with lavender. I bought them about a year ago. They work really well, so trying those might be cool, too!
1i love this idea
2thanks casa!
i'm printing it out now!
you rock!
Cool idea, You could probably also do a bunch of 'em and use them as table decoration
3I make and sell dryer balls -- pretty much the same method -- but wanted to comment that they are NOT guaranteed to do anything about static cling.
That doesn't mean they won't. I rarely have any static issues, and without my dryer balls there are certain articles (like the microfiber inserts for our pocket diapers) that ALWAYS stuck together. So mine certainly seem to help.
But it's not technically their intended purpose, so if you make them, don't think you've failed if you don't notice a difference in that area. They ARE meant to replace fabric softeners, however ... in the fact that they'll make your laundry *soft*!
They also greatly
reduce drying time, which is doubly environmentally friendly, since it helps to reduce electrical usage too.
Just a few facts I thought should be added.
4I am allergic to fabric softeners and sometimes dryer sheets are pushing it for me! Thanks for the eco-friendly alternative.
5Thanks for this - I'm going to try it.
FYI I switched to using a few drops of essential oil (lavender's my fave) instead of dryer sheets a year or so ago. It works great as a softener, although the scent doesn't remain particularly. It's saved me a lot in dryer sheets, saved landfill/recycling and me a lot of money. My one 4oz bottle is still 1/2 full. (I got it at newdirectionsaromatics.com - cheaper than the health food store
)
6How much yarn total does one need per ball? I don't have yarn so need to ask friends and having an amount would help.
7I linked to this on my blog this morning: http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/2010/03/monday-is-wash-day.html
Thanks for the inspiration!
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