Friday, October 10, 2014

Use It or Lose It

In the beginning of 2014 I made a promise to myself to use the crafting supplies I already own or bless someone else with them by donating to our local thrift store. 

I have saved this wool yarn for over a decade!  


My intentions were to make traditional Swedish felted socks and mittens. 

 

With the realization that my family rarely needs or uses these items, I had to find a project for the handful of skeins sitting in my shelf. Over the past six months I have been slowly replacing and integrating natural, organic and chemical-free foods and cleaning solutions. So, the first idea that came to kind was to make wool dryer balls, like these:


They will hopefully replace our 'need' for dryer sheets by not only softening the clothing's fibers but also help reduce the drying time by up to 25%! 

I started by unwinding the skeins and promptly rewinding them tightly into round balls. 



Once I had three prepared I placed them into a salvaged pair of pantyhose. Luckily, even though I haven't had a need to wear a pair since before my oldest was born, I had an unopened pairs in my dresser! 


I tied the pantyhose on itself in between each ball, so the balls wouldn't felt to each other. Now, off the the washing machine. 


I threw them in and washed them twice with a few drops of detergent and hot water. Then, into the dryer on the hottest setting. 


They started off as the size of softballs and came out more like baseballs. A few snips to get them out of the pantyhose and they are ready to use.


Dare I say, I'm hunting for laundry! 

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