Making Dryer Balls With Asher’s Wool

Jon with one of his dryer balls

We sat at the dining room table, warmed by the woodstove winding Asher’s roving into small balls.

For Jon it was the first time he ever wound a ball of anything, string, yarn or wool.  I showed him how to wind it around two fingers then slip the roving off his fingers and wind it around the other way.  Then back the other way again to make a ball.

Ahser’s roving was soft, springy and thick. It didn’t pull apart easily which made winding it easy.  I had weighed out four 1 oz portions of the roving.

Jon and I were experimenting making dryer ball.

I had some white roving left over from a few years back and some colorful roving that someone gave me.  So I strung it through the top of each ball to add a little color and variety.

After they were all rolled up, I put them in a leg of pantyhose and tied each ball in with a bit of yarn.

Then I threw them in the wash, added some of Mrs. Meyers Clean Day soap and washed them in hot water.

When they were washed, I put them in the dryer on “high”.

The dryer balls

Twenty minutes later the dryer balls were done.  One of the balls didn’t quite stick together, so I’m going to run that one through the wash again.  And as you can see in the photo one is more of a dryer egg than ball.

I still have to try them out in the dryer, I have a load of clothes in the washer now that I’ll use them on.

It was Emily who gave me the idea of make dryer balls during one of our weekly Zoom Studio Chats. She uses them all the time.   I come to see, many people do.

Dryer balls are used instead of dryer sheets.  But even if, like me, you don’t use dryer sheets, they still have benefits.

They separate your clothes in the dryer so they eliminate static cling and take out the wrinkles.  They also cut down on drying time by absorbing the water so you save electricity.  They are fragrant free, but you can add essential oils to them if have a favorite scent for your clothes.  (I’m thinking for me that would be lavender or cinnamon.) And of course, you’re not dousing your clothes in the chemicals that dryer sheets emit.  And you’re adding used dryer sheets to the landfill.

Now that I know how it’s done, I’m going to spend the day making dryer ball.

I still have to figure out a price for them and how I’ll sell them. I’ve read it best to use 6 dryer balls in a load of laundry.  But I’ve also read that you can use three for smaller loads.

I’m thinking I’ll sell them quantities of three and people can make up their own minds about how many to get and use.

Well, my laundry must be done washing by now.   I’ll let you know how the dryer balls work.

 

Full Moon Fiber Art