The air pockets 12 may be substantially uniformly distributed throughout the ball. As discussed above, air pockets 12 help to trap heat in the dryer ball Air pockets 12 also increase the absorbency of dryer ball In FIG. A larger sheet of wool batting may be cut, separated or otherwise divided into individual wool pieces According to some embodiments, each individual piece 16 weighs about 57 g.
Other forms of wool, such as wool roving and wool roping, may be used instead of wool batting. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. Adjacent edges 17 , 19 meet at their respective corners It is not necessary that piece 16 have the shape as illustrated in FIG.
In other embodiments, piece 16 may be irregular in shape or have a non-rectangular shape. These steps of pulling and stretching, and folding and rolling, are repeated for opposed sections of piece 16 so as to build the body 11 of dryer ball By taking laterally opposed sections of wool along edges 19 and folding or rolling them around body 11 , a ball can be formed with fibers oriented in different directions.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. Wrapping and rolling the wool so that the wool fibers are oriented in different directions will facilitate the felting or binding of the wool fibers during the wet felting stage. As seen in FIG. While body 11 is being built, pieces of wool piece 16 can be stretched and wrapped around or over peaks 20 that have developed in body 11 to smooth out such peaks and ensure a round shape to body To complete the building of body 11 , the last sections of wool at the two corners 18 of edge 17 may be pulled and stretched and then folded around body These wool sections may be wrapped around body 11 in different directions.
Care should be taking during the stage of forming wool piece 16 into a ball 10 to ensure that the wool is not folded or wrapped too tightly, otherwise the result may be an overly dense wool ball that is not effective in reducing drying time. In particular embodiments, the result of the ball forming steps described above should be a substantially spherical ball 10 having a circumference in the range of 43 cm to 53 cm 17 inches to 21 inches.
In particular embodiments, the dryer ball 10 's circumference is about 48 cm 19 inches. Dryer ball 10 should feel soft and spongy. After the ball 10 has been formed by the steps described above with reference to FIGS. The felting needle 21 can be used to pull fibers over or into any visible openings in body 11 , or to pull and weave fibers into the ball which are not flush against body The dryer ball 10 is then inserted in a bag or sac Bag 28 is made of porous material.
Such material may comprise, for example, nylon material. Ball 10 is inserted in bag 28 through open end 27 and moved toward closed end 26 , working out any wrinkles or folds that may develop by stretching and pulling the nylon material over ball Any loose fibers caught in the nylon material can be pushed or patted into place.
Once ball 10 is in the bag, open end 27 of bag 28 is closed. This can be accomplished by twisting and tying a knot 29 in the stocking as shown in FIG. Dryer ball 10 is now ready to undergo the wet felting stage. In this stage, bags 28 containing dryer balls 10 are submerged in water and washed to lubricate and stimulate the wool fibers so that they bond with one another.
In particular embodiments, dryer balls 10 are washed in hot water to agitate the wool fibers so that they bond together in a process known as felting. In some embodiments, a small amount of soap, such as a laundry detergent, is added to the water in which the balls are submerged and washed to help lubricate the fibers and encourage the fibers to move and bond together. A clothes washing machine or other suitable machine can be used for the wet felting stage. In some embodiments, a number of dryer balls 10 contained in their respective bags 28 may be wet felted at the same time.
For example, where a clothes washing machine is used, thirty 30 dryer balls may be placed in the washing machine at once. In some embodiments, the wash cycle may last between about 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Following a wash in hot soapy water, dryer balls 10 are rinsed with cold water to remove the soap and stop the felting process. Bags 28 are opened, and dryer balls 10 are removed from the bags and allowed to air dry.
In some embodiments, dryer balls 10 are allowed to dry for about 24 hours. The finished, dried dryer balls 10 have a substantially uniform distribution of wool fibers throughout. In addition, dryer balls 10 contain air pockets 12 , as shown in FIG. Dryer balls 10 may be inspected after removal from the bags. Any loose fibers or sections requiring further felting may be needle felted. A few drops of essential oil or other fragrance may optionally be added to dryer ball 10 by the manufacturer or the consumer to freshen the laundry with a scent.
Otherwise, dryer ball 10 can be left unscented. In particular embodiments, dryer balls 10 are wet felted only once i. In such embodiments a single wet felting step is generally sufficient to cause the wool fibers in dryer ball 10 to matt together so that the ball keeps its shape while being used in a clothes dryer. After a single wet felting step, dryer balls 10 will have typically shrunk from their pre-wetfelting size.
After wet felting, dryer ball 10 should still feel quite spongy and contain air pockets It is important that dryer balls 10 are not over-felted, for example, by washing too long in the hot soapy water, or using too high a temperature for the water, so as to cause the wool to become compacted and overly dense. Wet felting a dryer ball 10 more than once may increase the density of the ball such that the ball is no longer as effective at reducing drying time.
A dryer ball 10 need only be sufficiently felted so that the wool fibers in the ball are bonded together and the ball keeps its shape while tumbled in the dryer. The temperature of the hot water and duration of the wash for the wet felting stage may be controlled such that dryer balls 10 shrink to a particular circumference after wet felting, such as for example, a circumference of about Method begins by providing a piece of wool material at block The piece is weighed at block to ensure that it is the desired weight.
For example, in particular embodiments, each piece should weigh about 57 g 2 oz. At block , the piece is formed into a ball. One method for implementing block is described above with reference to FIGS.
The formed ball is optionally measured at block to ensure that it is of a desired circumference. A ball that is too tightly wrapped may be too dense to be effective in reducing drying time. In some embodiments, after it is formed at block dryer ball 10 has a circumference in the range of 43 cm to 53 cm 17 inches to 21 inches.
Method proceeds to block by needle felting the ball where needed e. This step is described above with reference to FIG. The step at block is optional. Method then proceeds to the wet felting stage at block , by placing the ball in a bag and washing the ball while it is in the bag.
This step is described above with reference to FIGS. After wet felting, the ball is removed from the bag and allowed to air dry at block The Early History of Felt. American Anthropologist, 32 1 , Just added to your cart. Continue shopping. Close search.
Woolen dryer balls: an homage to the early history of felt by Genevieve Wollenbecker March 18, What did the first makers of felt use this marvelous product for? You named it, armor. During the rinse cycle, the spinning action of the washer will open the ball and release the Downy Fabric Conditioner. How does fabric softener work? Both fabric softeners and dryer sheets help eliminate static and wrinkles while making clothes feel softer and smell better. However, they work in different ways.
Liquid fabric softener is added to the wash cycle and permeates into fabric fibers. The Procter and Gamble has sold prior to the invention of the present invention a product called the Downy ball. Other patents disclosing fabric softener or other devices include Bolan et al.
Patent No. Very very slowly, over time, your dryer balls will pill and shrink. When they start to get too small to be effective, that is when you'll want to buy new balls. It won't happen overnight and your balls will still work, just not as well.
You should be good for at least 2 years though and probably more. If there isn't a dispenser, then you have some options: Wait for the rinse cycle and then pour the fabric softener into the tub when it's filling up with water.
Buy a dispenser that you can put in with the wash. Use dryer sheets instead of liquid fabric softener. Use wool dryer balls thanks to M. A softener ball is filled with softener and placed into the washing machine at the beginning of the wash. It is designed to release the softener at the appropriate time in the cycle. To add fabric softener manually, pour the softener into the machine during the final rinse cycle. The pods do not contain fabric softener , so if you would normally add fabric softener to your laundry then you will still need to do so.
Put your fabric softener in the compartment that's labeled by a star or a flower. This is usually the smallest compartment of the drawer.
If you use fabric softener , your laundry will feel nice and soft. It also makes the laundry smell fresh.
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