Last year I made my own wool dryer balls out of wool that my mother-in-law had spun into yarn. I followed the directions off of a website that said to wind the balls as though you were going to knit from them. Make sure the ends were woven back through so they wouldn't unravel. Wash and dry them the first several times in a knotted panty hose leg to get them nice and felted. Well, I am having lots of trouble with these pesky balls. First of all, they did not felt up. I can still see each indiviual strand of yarn. I thought they would end up looking matted and fuzzy sort of like a tennis ball. Not. So now I have the problem of unraveling in the wash. Like a kitten from the netherworld. I just got done actually boiling them in a pot of water for about a half hour. They are draining now, but they still look the same.
Hello Loyce! :) Having trouble with your dryer ball??? It might be the wool. Some wools do not felt like other wools. Also wool felts better when it has not been spunned. Just get some wool and get it wet and make it into a ball, then put in the panty hose to wash. It might also to help to poke it with fleting needles. Wool also need cold and hot agitation in water to felt. Hope this helps. :)
Thanks, Laura. After boiling the balls, I dried them with towels on High several times still in the panty-hose. (At last--a good reason for panty-hose!) A couple of them are looking more matted. Like you said, maybe it's the wool. The most matted one is a variegated natural cream and brown.
My homemade dryer balls don't look as matted as you are saying, I can still see most of the strings BUT they are well stuck together and haven't unraveled in the least. I've been very happy with them! So maybe yours will be ok? The problem is I need more and need to make them bigger and wool yarn is EXPENSIVE! I would love to try needle felting them but don't have a good local source for roving. Good luck!
my sister accidently made some and I asked her what she was going to do with her wool balls and she did not even know about using them in the dryer. I took some home and am using them and I really like them but mine are matted really well so I really think it is the wool.
Wool dryer balls
Posted - Jun 02 2011 : 7:17:09 PM
