I've been hearing so much about them, and they popped up on one of those deal-a-day site, so I broke down and bought a set of 3. Do they live up to the hype? Well, maybe. I'm not in a position to sit around and time the dryer or stack up my towels and measure loft. But in the last month, I haven't used any fabric softener except for when I've washed our microfiber blankets (and those are static factories!!). Fabric softener can leave residue on your clothes that will take a while to wash out. So I don't know if it has washed outs and the balls are working, or if it's just softener residue leaving my clothes so soft. Either way I''m using less fabric softener.
I came across this tutorial for making your own dryer balls on craftgawker, and I decided to give it a try. I followed the directions exactly, except I skipped the wool roving step at the end. My yarn was designed for felting, and I didn't want to add another product to the shopping list, so I skipped it. Besides, I had selected a nice colorful yarn, so the pretty wool roving would've hidden it. I bought the yarn from my fabric/craft superstore: Bernat brand Felting Natural Wool, color 94222 "Snap Dragon".
After the first pass through the wash, the yarn was still pretty separate, but I just let them go for a few dryer cycles (the dryer will be their new home anyway), and after a few more tumbles, they became nicely felted together. SUCCESS!! You can also add a few drops of essential oils, The set I purchased was lavender fragrance, yumm.
Was it worth the effort? Well it only took about 15 minutes to wind the balls. The yarn cost around $7 for 2.6 ounces, and I made 2 from it. You could go with as little as 1 ounce per ball, I think. The set I purchased was around $20 for the 1/2 off deal. I see them on Amazon for as low as $20 and on Etsy with prices ranging up to $60. I also find it very satisfying to make something useful, and with 3 kids under the age of 5, its difficult to get anything started never mind finishing, so a 15 minute craft is a dream come true.
One more word of caution, these get lost in the wash easily! They disappear up a sleeve, or get balled up in the corner of your sheets. The set I bought was natural colors, beige and tan. I have already lost a ball that I know was in the dryer when I started it, and disappeared after the cycle. In the future, I will be using BRIGHT colors.
I've seen tutes for wool felted cat toys, bowls, covered soaps, and this delightful bowl. I am interested...
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