How to Make Wool Dryer Balls
When I write about the benefits of using wool dryer balls in place of laundry softeners, I get a few responses gently raking me over the coals for suggesting we should spend money on commercially manufactured products when it’s so easy to make your own wool dryer balls.
Yes, I could do that and so could you. But unless you have a super cheap source of 100% wool yarn, it could cost more to make them than to buy them, which would be counterintuitive.
100% wool yarn
First of all, wool dryer balls must be made from 100% wool that has not been treated with chemicals to make it “superwash” or “machine washable.” As a result, natural wool yarn will allow the dryer balls to become “felted.” Otherwise, they will just unwind and fall apart in the dryer. Take a look at these Smart Sheep 100% Wool Dryer Balls to see what beautifully felted dryer balls look like.
Felting is a process by which the tiny wool fibers are allowed to rub against one another vigorously. As a result, the fibers become hopelessly entangled creating a type of stable “fabric.”
You’ll need lots of yarn
To make one dryer ball requires one skein, about 100 yards, of 100% wool yarn. Each dryer ball needs to be weighty. This is because each one needs enough heft to bounce around in the dryer as it fluffs and separates the folds of the wet laundry. One skein per dryer ball is the absolute minimum.
You need a set of six dryer balls to be most effective in softening a typical dryer load of laundry. At anywhere from $7 to $15 per skein for feltable wool yarn—perhaps half that amount when the yarn is on sale—that pushes the cost just for materials to $42 to $90 for one set. Therefore, it makes more sense to buy them since an excellent set of solid 100% pure wool dryer balls costs less than $20.
Until recently, I’d never found the idea of making my own dryer balls from 100% wool yarn to be a reasonable activity given the reasons above. However, I changed my thinking recently when I watched an online video, The Man Who Knits. He doesn’t get his wool yarn from his local yarn shop. He recycles wool sweaters from thrift shops.
By unraveling a quality knitted wool garment, he ends up with enough beautiful yarn to knit new garments. And what a craftsman he is. As a knitter myself, I stand in awe of his work. But I digress.
One recycled man’s sweater
Typically, a man’s sweater requires 6 to 8 skeins of yarn. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Bingo! Wool dryer balls, right? All right there in one sweater. And when it’s Sale Day at the thrift store, one might expect to find a high quality, 100% wool man’s sweater for $.99!
Now, there is a process and steps one must follow for do-it-yourself dryer balls. They must be wrapped very tightly. And they must go through a specific process that forces them to become properly felted and ready to go to work in the clothes dryer. You can follow the directions and steps clearly described HERE. The video contains a photo tutorial.
Should you find success with making your own dryer balls from recycled 100% untreated feltable wool yarn*, you may want to make two sets—one light-colored, the other black or dark-colored. This will head off that problem of transferring white lint to your dark clothes and vice versa!
*You can quite easily test yarn to see if it will felt by cutting two small lengths. Next, rub them together vigorously between your hands for a few minutes. Look closely to see if they are becoming connected as the tiny fibers become hopelessly intertwined. If not, you can assume the yarn is either not 100% wool or other suitable natural fiber, or it has been chemically treated.
Orignally published 6-12-19; Updated and republished 3-22-21
Is there a way to re-shape the wool balls I purchased? A couple of them are looking a lot more flat than round, and those 2 are really soft and squishy instead of pretty firm like they were when I first purchased them. It kind of looks like the two in question broke apart from the ball form and have kind of a flap coming off of the ball part. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I live in a apt complex , I with 3 washers and 3 dryers. So, I bought 6 wool balls from Amazon. Then at Christmas time a good friend of mine gave me 2 smaller ones! I love them I put a 3 or 4 drops of lavender essential oil drops on one of them and then toss them in the dryer! You only need 1 ball that has essential oil on it or it would be too strong! Learned the hard way. lol
I bought a set of balls and used them for months and months–THEN– one by one they came apart.
So I would like to buy a new set, but after the first 10 minutes on this site I still cannot find the way to buying them. HELP !
Take a look at these Smart Sheep 100% Wool Dryer Balls. The same link is in the post above under the Heading “100% wool dryer balls.”
Three tennis balls work
I LOVE my wool dryer balls and I neither have the time nor patience to make them. Especially 6 of them. Like Mary said, for under $20. it’s well worth it! And I’ve been using my set of six (that I purchased for $16.95 plus tax) for about 5 years.
I was thinking estate sales often have had yarn that the owner has had for years! We are about running out of those type estates as younger knitters seem to not have as much wool.
Is it possible to make wool dryer balls from the wool from inside an old wool quilt?
I had a set of those knobby silicone (or whatever) dryer balls but they were so noisy! So I got a thrift store wool sweater, washed it in hot water and and dried it on cotton. Then I cut it into thin strips and and wrapped the noisy balls and stitched the ends into place. No more noise.
I love the wool dryer balls i purchased! and, they can be entertaining because i find them in some interesting places… like in the sleeve of a blouse, inside a pillow case i already put on the pillow, in the pocket of a jacket, or my cat playing with one that fell out of the dryer. 🙂
Very rare to find 100% wool sweaters at a thrift store any more.
I found 2 today!!! 🙂
You can find wool sweaters but they usually run about 5 or more dollars even on sale and in dark colors. I just cut in strips. I have used a blanket too but some have unwound so I had to sew them down.