No-Cost Dryer Balls

Edit: In case you're wondering 'What the heck are dryer balls, and why would I want them?', here's why:
Dryer balls bounce around inside the dryer and move your laundry around so that more air can circulate around the clothes, which makes them dry faster. Faster drying means less waiting around in your underwear for those pants to dry, and of course less money you have to shell out to the energy company. Some dryer
balls also make your clothes smell nice. If you wanted you could add a drop or two of essential oil to one of the middle layers of the ball (while you're still making it) and the scent would release over time. Dryer balls are also supposed to make your clothes softer. I have noticed my husband's t-shirts are much softer, and all my laundry is definitely fluffier!

Do you use dryer balls? I've been wanting to try them out, but until recently I was under the impression that dryer balls had to be made of either rubber or wool. I started making a dryer ball out of wool yarn, but it took up so much yarn and it felt like a waste, so I came up with these up-cycled sock dryer balls.

Everyone has lone socks hanging around their house, so why not make them earn their keep?

For the core you can ball fabric scraps together tightly, or tie a knot in the toe of a sock.

Wrap as much fabric scraps as you have around the core as tightly as you can, then put into the toe of your first sock.

Push the core all the way down, stretching the sock, then twist tightly around one full turn- I know my twist is loose here. Do what I say, not what I do. ;)

Flip the remaining sock up around the ball, pull the sock tight, and it will look like this. At this point the sock is 2-ply. Clear as mud, right?  Repeat the twist, pull the sock over, twist, etc. until you reach the top of the sock.

Fold/stretch the top of the sock over like a little hat, and insert into the next sock, "hat" down so it stays put.

You'll know you're done adding socks when it's about the size of a baseball/fist. To finish, pull the top layer tight and sew a quick whip stitch around the edge to keep it together. All done! Throw them in the dryer with your next load, and watch your clothes dry in less time.

You lookin' at me?

Tips:

*Notice I put the ugly hospital socks in the inside and the more decorated frog sock on the outside.

*You could use pretty much any fabric for these. If you had an old t-shirt you could cut it into strips and wrap it into a good size ball then use one sock on the outside to finish. Use what you have!

*Keep it tight. A loose ball won't bounce around and do the job like a hard one will.

* Don't worry about the lumps and bumps. They will actually help the ball to bounce around more erratically, thereby creating more movement and more efficiency.

I read that 4 dryer balls are optimal to save energy, so that's how many I made. I tested them out, and they work awesome! Usually I run a 60 minute dryer cycle with my ancient dryer, and I was able to decrease the time down to 45 minutes with a load of towels. Awesome, right? I tested them with king size sheets also, and I didn't have to pull out and re-arrange the sheets toward the end to get them completely dry. Do your sheets do that? Get all wrapped up around themselves so the inside layers are damp and the outside dry? No longer a problem.

Cost: Nada.

Savings: No idea!

If you use a laundromat that gives you 7 mins of dryer time per quarter then you could save $1 with every two dryer loads. That would add up quick at my house. I'd love to hear if you try this out.