Ever ruined a wool sweater in the dryer? Or thrifted a nice wool cardigan only to discover it's too scratchy to wear? Use this tutorial for our upcycled wool dryer balls (it's been a great solution to all of our wool scrap woes).
These handy little guys are great for replacing dryer sheets and if you're feeling fancy you can add a few drops of essential oil to them to add fragrance.
Materials Needed:
- Felted sweater
- Scissors
- Needle and Thread
- Rotary Cutter with Mat (optional)
- Sewing Machine (optional)
To start, cut off all of the seams and ribbed cuffs of your sweater leaving just the flat pieces of knit wool. Save the scraps.
Next, cut out 6 squares from your flat pieces measuring 3″ x 3″. Save the scraps from that too.
Next, either hand or machine stitch the squares together to form a cube. Use a 3/8″ seam allowance and make sure you start stitching about 3/8″ away from the corners. This makes it easier to create the cube shape. If you have a walking foot handy, it can help keep the fabric from stretching too much while you sew. Hand stitching also works very well for this project if therapeutic slow sewing is your thing.
Sew all but one side together.
Now, back to those scraps you saved. Chop any seams, ribbing and pieces smaller than 3″ x 3″ into confetti! You can use scissors or a rotary cutter for this. It's a great way to engage in some creative emotional release.
Now take your cube and turn it right side out and stuff it with the all the festive wool confetti you just made.
Then use a ladder stitch to close the hole. You can find an excellent tutorial for this stitch at squishycutedesigns.com (along with some adorable plushie patterns).
Then you are all done! Repeat two or three times to sew yourself some extras and enjoy the fuzzy fruits of your labor.
