How to Felt Wool Dryer Balls 4 Ways: Pantyhose Method & Needle Felting Method 

+campweasel1996 Thank you - I absolutely agree! :)

Well, welcome! :)

Thanks. Yes, I try to stick with 100% wool most of the time. I have used wool blends before while felting INTO 100% wool, but they don't always bind as well, so I like to stick with old "tried and true" pure wool.

+sharpstick I don't think the weight will have any effect. They bounce around and hit everything in the dryer just fine without any added weight. Making them heavier will probably just make them noisier in the dryer. ;)

+Lisa Leone No, I don't, but you certainly could to secure it more. I don't find that it's needed. The friction between the stocking and the wool seem to do a fine job of felting without it.

You can do it with just the yarn, but you may have to run it through the washer more than once since the yarns all run the same direction and don't bind as well.

+Connie Bueche I've never used a front loader, so I don't know. I have heard that they don't work as well, but it might just take more than one wash, and since it's not a fine knit project, you don't have to worry too much about shaping, so I think the wool balls would do just fine in there. Make sure you wash on hot, rinse on cold, with a little laundry soap. Put them in a stocking, alone or with a pair of jeans, in the washer. If it were a project, you'd want to try and skip the spin cycle, but I know some front loaders won't even allow you to do this, and being dryer balls, they should hold their shape anyway. Plus, you'll be able to mold them a bit when they come out. Please let me know how it goes, so I can share the process with others. :)

I have made about 2 dozen dryer balls in my front load washer. The tricks I use: * I wash on my "sanitizing" cycle. The washer manual says water is 154 degrees F and it is a very long cycle (about 2 hours) * Do be sure to add a tablespoon of laundry soap in the soap cup 9with 5-10 balls) * do NOT add jeans or towels! These cushion the balls too much as they tumble and then they don't felt as well * also I use acrylic yarn to tie off the stockings. A stocking knot will cause that part of the ball to have a flat side when it bounces onto the knot while tumbling. * if the finishing layer is wool yarn, I plan to through them through the washer and dryer twice before they are felted * a hint from another website; I make a dryer ball "core" first. It is exactly like a dryer ball but 1/2 sized. Get it completely felted and dry then wrap again and felt the second outer layer. This makes a very sturdy ball and takes lots less time/effort to get it felted and dry. But then again you have to perform both steps to get your finished product. My core is an old wool sweater cut into strips and wound tightly then covered in a layer of wool yarn. Then felt it once in a stocking using the washer and dryer. Then the outer layer can be roving or whatever more expensive material you have for the layer that shows.

+Laurel Humes If you fully needle felt them, they you would not have to wash them in the washer.

They should last a year or longer, even with daily use. It's up to you when you want to replace them. They may become misshapen and linty over time, with some additional shrinkage, but I'm still using mine from two years ago, so they are sturdy little suckers.

Sounds like a good idea to me, just keep in mind that there could be a lot of shrinkage if you wrap it too loosely. Let me know how it turns out!

+Megan Keller I'd say at least a year, maybe two, depending on how heavy your usage is. I use mine 2-3 times daily. I just love laundry. :/

+tlcinspirations okay cool, thanks a ton!!!

Since it's a dryer ball, it will be in the dryer often. It won't hurt it to have it in a hot dryer, since that is what it's for. In fact, it will just continue to felt a little bit more. And, you don't necessarily need a heavy layer of roving - just enough to cover whatever lays underneath. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching. ;)

I would only recommend jeans or towels to go in with them due to shrinkage (since you're using very hot water) and the possibility of shedding from the wool, even while encased in a stocking or something similar.

Mine lasted a few years, but only because my dog got a hold of them. :o

+Paris Rivera Did my tattoo make it in there? I must have reached over something. Man, that was like 20 years ago, but thank you so much. :)

Its gorgeous

Make sure you're using a tightly woven pantyhose or stocking. Some of the cheaper ones can be extra difficult. Regardless, you may have to fight it a little to get the ball out since the wool fibers want to bind to it.

nevermind - you answered!

It depends on the size of the ball you are creating, and I just use leftovers, so it's difficult to measure how much I used in this video. Just keep in mind that the roving will shrink much more than the yarn will.

As far as value goes, you can't beat Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool (NOT wool-ease). You can usually find it on sale on Amazon or Joann's. Any 100% wool yarn will work though. If you prefer wool roving, you will have to go to a craft store or search online for what you want. Something basic would be perfect. No need to get fancy with dryer balls. :)

Yes. You can wind up a ball of it and felt it in the wash that way, but you will probably have to do it a few times to get it felted enough to avoid unraveling, and you will still be able to see the yarns - they don't bind seamlessly like roving does. You can also use it in creating designs on a wool base, but the wool yarn tends to roll under the needle sometimes, so be careful. I've used it in simple landscapes, branches, etc.

+Laurel Humes I'm not sure why you would want to add another layer of roving, unless you wanted to change the color, but you could definitely do that. You can also just needle felt the design directly on the dryer ball without adding another layer of roving. It's entirely up to you. :)

+tlcinspirations i tried needle felting a piece of craft fabric onto the felted ball last night and it did not stick at all. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Then I thought adding more roving over the ball might help the craft felt stick

+Laurel Humes My first thought is that you're using synthetic (polyester, acrylic, rayon) craft felt rather than wool felt pre-cuts. This will make it difficult to get the fibers to bind together. They're a little harder to find, but I came across some in Hobby Lobby, or you can purchase some online -- here's a sample pack I found on Amazon - go.magik.ly/r/tlci/13a9d/

+tlcinspirations hmm i bought it at a local yarn store and it says it's "washed wool" from a local company called Mountain Wool. I can go back to the store and ask. They're really helpful there. Also, thank you so much for this video! We have a flock of 5 sheep and this is my first attempt at crafting with their wool. Watching these videos gets me so excited about all the things I can do with it. Once I get the hang of it, I'm definitely stealing your Jack design. Nightmare before Christmas is my sister-in-law's favorite movie. I can't wait to give her her own special dryer balls :)

+Laurel Humes I'm assuming that's just washed and not superwashed, so it should work. Needle felting works best when you're felting wool to wool, but it sounds like that's what you're doing unless the wool has been processed to prevent the felting process. I want to make sure I'm understanding: So you're saying that you try to needle felt your cut wool pieces onto felted wool roving with a barbed felting needle and it's not staying in place?

You want to use dog hair instead of yarn? I can't say that I've ever done this before, but if I WERE to try it, I would only use the dog hair tightly wrapped in a ball (as a base for the ball) with the yarn or roving then tightly wrapped around it and needle felt it in to the dog hair base. I mention this method in the video using old yarn you don't use. I would just replace the old yarn with dog hair.

thanks

I wash them in hot water with the pieces I want to felt to avoid any lint from sticking to the wool or vice versa. You can also use old towels, but I still recommend that the wool pieces be put in a laundry bag of some sort to protect them from any lint coming off the towels. As far as regular laundry goes, I wash in cold too. ;)

ooooh! lol! i was like well i've been doing it wrong!

+lovealpacas alpacaserenade I use thick nylon knee highs, so they don't get as caught up in the nylon - they still do, to some degree, but the dryer balls will always pull away from it. As far as the shape, you can also pull them out while they're still pliable (and damp) and reshape them through the nylon, but to prevent this, make sure your wool is tied into the nylon nice and tight.

+tlcinspirations hmm thick nylon knee highs -- would they be support hose?

+lovealpacas alpacaserenade I don't know. Mine are just grey nylon knee highs - more like tights (non-opaque, can't see through them), thicker. Sorry I can't describe them properly. I don't really wear nylons or pantyhose. :D

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The stocking is only a suggestion. It helps the ball hold it's shape, holds the wool together (especially if roving is used anywhere, helps create friction for better felting, and prevents the wool from ending up all over anything in the wash with it or all over the inside of your washer. I would at least use a lingerie bag or something. If you just use wool yarn, you could probably get away with washing them without a stocking, but make sure you wash them with jeans (no towels).

tlcinspirations Thank you so much!! I am making a wool ball rug and I didn't' want to stab them 500 times each.

A wool ball rug? Can I get you to share that pattern or technique with me? Sounds interesting.

+Barbara Lies Wool dryer balls are felted and used as a replacement for dryer sheets. If you use 3-4 in your dryer with your load of laundry, they will help keep everything static free, wrinkle free, help soften your clothes, and may even reduce your drying time, saving you energy, too. I think they're a wonderful. :)

Yes, a piece of an old t-shirt would likely work - just wrap up your ball and tie off the end of the fabric. You just want to use something that will hold it together and won't adhere to the wool too much.

@@KnotsKneedles Thanks so much! Wrapping these bad boys up right now!

+Lexiflower 33 I happen to know that hurts pretty bad! My husband walked in and started talking to me while I was needle felting, and all I did was look up at him for a second and I stabbed my finger bad enough to bleed. :( I believe I've said this before, and your injury serves as a good reminder, but please WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING WHEN NEEDLE FELTING. You only have the one set of fingers. :o