dryer balls and roll-ons

Hey everyone!

So, my last post I talked about how you can use your essential oils to make things for your house. I am trying to make more things for my house in order to not use chemicals! So, here is something that I have made to use in my house. 

http://www.practicallyfunctional.com/homemade-wool-dryer-balls/

Dryer balls! I really like them! You just put them in your dryer to dry with your clothes and it helps dry your clothes faster, and they smell really good because of the oils!!

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE FELTED WOOL DRYER BALLS

Here’s what you need for your homemade wool dryer balls: 

• 1 skein of 100% wool yarn (I used Fishermen’s Wool yarn)
• pantyhose
• scissors
• string or washable yarn
• optional, a few drops of essential oils for scent

A quick note about yarn: You need 100% wool yarn for the wool dryer balls themselves. No acrylic, no blend, no wool yarn that is labeled as “machine washable”; these types of yarns won’t “felt” and then your dryer balls will just unravel the first time you try to use them! Make sure the label says 100% wool yarn! You also need a few pieces of acrylic or washable yarn or string to tie up the dryer balls in the pantyhose. You don’t want to use the same 100% wool yarn for this step or the strings tying off the pantyhose sections will “felt” into your dryer balls and it will be really hard to get the dryer balls apart later on!

- Start by wrapping the 100% wool yarn around two fingers a few times.

- Then pull the yarn loops off your fingers and start wrapping more yarn around the loops in the opposite direction.

- Continue wrapping yarn around the loops, squishing them up and rotating the directions of your loops until a small ball forms.

- Continue wrapping yarn around the ball, changing up the direction every once in a while, until the ball of yarn is about baseball sized.

- Cut the yarn, leaving about a six inch tail. Wind the tail in and around other strands of yarn in the ball to secure it. Then tuck the very end inside the ball as far as you can. You can use a blunt-tipped needle for this, or just tuck it in with your fingers.

- Repeat the steps above to make as many dryer balls as you want! If you run out of yarn halfway through winding a ball, just start a new skein, tie the two ends together, and keep winding! It will all hold together later so it won’t matter if it’s two separate pieces of yarn.

- Once you have all your dryer balls made, it’s time to “felt” them! Stick one of the balls down into the toe of some pantyhose. Then tie off the pantyhose with a piece of string or washable (acrylic) yarn. Then add another ball and tie off the pantyhose again. Continue until all of your dryer balls are in the pantyhose, and make sure to tie off the pantyhose again after the last ball is added!

Wash and dry your dryer ball “snake” on the hottest wash and dry settings 4 or 5 times. I just washed a bunch of sheets and towels along with the snake so that I wasn’t wasting water! Keep checking the dryer balls between each load of laundry; you should see the wool starting to “felt”, meaning the wool strands start to mesh and meld with the rest of the strands, smoothing out the surface of the ball.

After 4 or 5 wash and dry cycles, the individual strands of the balls should be much less visible; just remove the wool dryer balls from the pantyhose and you’re done!

When you’re ready to dry a load of laundry, toss 4 or 5 wool dryer balls in with the load and start it up just like normal. The ball will bounce around as your laundry dries, and when the clothes are completely dry, just pull the dryer balls out and set them aside for the next load!

Add a drop or two of essential oil to each dryer ball before tossing them in the dryer to help naturally scent your laundry! I love using Lavender essential oil and Purification essential oil for this!

So, I just got my order of oils in the mail! I was so excited for this order, I got so many different things! One thing I got was for my husband! It's called Breathe Again roll-on.

Last night was his first time using it, and he really thinks it helped him be able to breathe! I love Young Living's roll-ons! I want to get more of them, but right now I just have Breathe Again and Tranquil. I loveeeee Tranquil! It smells soooo good!! I'll put it on my temples right before bed!

Let me know if you would want to try making your own dryer balls and you need oils or if you want to buy some of the roll-ons. They are amazing!! Also, if you have any questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask!

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Disclosure: The information on this site is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice.