Freebie Tutorial for Wool Dryer Balls :)

Did you know that you could cut down your drying time by about 30% just by adding a few balls of wool???  You may ask-I have those bumpy plastic balls. Theyre fine right? Well, not really. They are made with lots of yucky chemicals. Wool is all natural and in all actuality, dry faster/better than the plastic ones! They are super easy to make, not very expensive, and dont really take that much time at all!

Lets start with materials needed!
A skein of wool. Mine was Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Brown Heather. It had almost 500 yards for $5.99 (50% off at Hobby Lobby). You need to make sure its 100% wool. If it says machine washable, its a NO NO! If it says "Ideal for felting"-GET IT! :)
Wool roving-if you want designs :)
THATS IT! :)
The skein I bought wound into 4 larger than tennis ball sized balls.




After you wind them, stick them in panty hose. Yeah you heard me, panty hose! :) Also, tie knots between each ball so they don't stick to each other.






Then put the whole thing into a pillowcase and tie a knot!






Then Throw it in the washer and do a hot wash with a little detergent or TEASPOON of dish soap.








This wash/dry will felt the balls :) When you take the balls out, they should sort of be stuck to the panty hose. You'll have to pull the ball free!
Now the fun part! I bought a pack of wool roving @ Hobby Lobby for $1.99 (this part is definitely optional, but does add a bit of color and possibly some pattern if youre very artsy!)





Take the balls out of the pillow case and out of the panty hose.





Add your wool roving in whatever pattern you choose(make sure you apply the roving SUPER thin!). You can use a felting needle to make a pattern if you like!

Here are the patterns I came up with :)





And after felting the designs in! :)





Done! :)