Homemade dryer balls

Okay, so I attempted homemade dryer balls.  The instructions I followed can be found here:

http://goodmama.typepad.com/goodmama/2008/05/make-your-own-wool-dryer-balls.html

I bought off-white 100% wool, followed the instructions exactly and they WORK. I do have some advice/additional info (learned from my own mistakes!), if you're going to try this, too:

1) The first ball that you make, make super tight.  You make the ball twice - first a small one, then wash/dry, then continue wrapping yarn around the small ball. That first small ball is pretty important.
2) I used an old knee-high.  Instead of trying to find string (I am NOT a sewer), I just knotted the knee-high between each ball. Worked fine.
3) It does not have to be color-matched.  I was concerned about putting a white ball in with dark clothes -- would I have little lint pieces all over my black clothes? I didn't.  I'm not sure if this is because they just DON'T give off lint or if it's because of the yarn I bought.
4) Watch how you finish the "second" part of the ball.  I should've done a very traditional "tidy" criss-cross look:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/chatiryworld/347771427/sizes/m/in/photostream/)

But instead, one of mine, on the "Second" part was pretty messy and disorganized.  What this led to, upon first use, was the messy ball to come unraveled in the dryer.  The organized-looking ball stayed put together just fine.  And here's three cool things - a) the clothes were STILL soft and static-free and b) because I did a super-duper tight core ball, I only have to fix "half" of it, and c) the yarn that came off is still usable, and I plan to use that to fix my ball.

I feel like I should note that I only used two balls, had nice results.  But I REALLY look forward to having a total of four balls. OH the softness. I did read on one board that the larger the load (so if you have a large-capacity machine) you'll need more balls. 

I've also read that these balls will felt more as they get used, and will become harder/firmer with more use, too.  I read this to mean, the longer in use, the more unlikely I am to have a repeat of today's yarn mess. 

Lastly, I have read there are ways to naturally add essential oils to these balls, that won't bother sensitive skin or leave any reside/oil spots that are sometimes a concern with softeners.  I haven't experimented with that.

All in all, I feel pretty good about the experiment seeing as I don't think I ever touched a crochet hook or yarn until this last weekend.  I'm a crafter-in-progress... so if anyone who reads this has a better way or advice, please share!