The Fun of Balloon Hats

Balloon hats are made by twisting long, skinny balloons into joined sections so that they hold their shape and fit onto the head. After that, almost anything goes!

I recently did a project that left me with a lot of twister balloons, and I decided the best way to use them up was to learn to make balloon hats... so here goes! After all, making animal shapes are fun, but what do you do with them... really? I mean, you have to carry them around or find somewhere to put them but with a balloon hat, you can carry them around in a hands-free form, they are less prone to get popped while on your head and they really are a lot of fun as far as headgear goes!

I got started making balloon hats after I created a Big Giant Squid head as a mask-making commission. I had lots of twister balloons leftover after making the tentacles. In fact, I had every color of long skinny balloon you might want except orange. I decided I had to do something fun with them.

So that's how I got started on making different types of balloon hats. If I can mange to come up with something cohesive, I promise to put up pictures here. My housemate has a fear of the sounds of balloons popping, so I only make balloon hats when she's out of the house.

Balloon hats are really fun to make, they travel well (you don't make the hat until you get to where you are going) and they are fun for anyone as you can easily make them in whatever size you need!

If you've got some twisting balloons on hand and are ready to start, the below links will get you hat-making in minutes!

helpful hints and suggestions

Getting started with balloon twisting is both easy and hard. Here are some suggestions of things I found helpful through my own trial-and-error ballon games.

• Trim down your fingernails. Long fingernails or ragged edges make it easier to accidentally pop your balloons. Plus long nails can make it harder to tie knots.

• If the sound of popping balloons freaks you out.... Wear earplugs! Seriously, this is easy to do and can really increase your comfort level until you get more skilled at all the twisting.

• Watch out for your pets! Not only can popping noises make them scared, some animals will try to play with, or eat, the balloon shrapnel.

• Right before you start twisting, wash your hands. Getting all the oils off your skin will give you a bit more grip, which can be really useful to the beginning twister.

Here are links to sites that feature follow-along balloon hat videos. You can go absolutely balloon hat crazy with these!