Wool Dryer Balls - A Cloth Diaper Safe Answer to Fabric Softener

I recently purchased a large stash of Happy Heinys for my son (they have quickly become my favorite brand as they run a bit bigger than other one size pockets, which is great as my son is big for his age!). Before purchasing them, I was looking at Kim's cloth diaper reviews the brand on Dirty Diaper Laundry. One thing that she mentioned is that the fleece used in Happy Heinys has a tendency to get a little rough the longer you use them. She recommended using either a cloth diaper safe fabric softener or wool dryer balls. I thought I'd give wool dryer balls a try as I had been hearing lots of good things about them (not only to them help to soften the diaper fabric, but they also help diapers dry faster when in the dryer!).

I decided to try out being crafty and making my own, since they seemed easy enough to make. I used the guide on the Goodmama Blog. It is SUPER easy to follow. I went to my local craft store and bought 100% wool yarn and started wrapping. I had the base of 3 wool dryer balls done in under 45 minutes. Honestly, the felting takes the longest of all the steps as you need to wait for your washer and dryer, the rest is quick and super easy to do, even for a very un-crafty person like me!

If you are noticing that the fabric of your diapers are getting a bit rough, I highly recommend going to your local craft store and picking up the supplies to make wool dryer balls. They REALLY help to soften the fabric of your diapers, especially microfleece! I was so impressed with how soft even the oldest Happy Heinys in my stash felt after using wool dryer balls in the dryer with them. It's amazing!

Christina D is a 26 year old stay at home mom to a wonderful little boy named Alexander and is due with their second son on March 20, 2012.