How to Lock Down the Twist While Creating Balloon Animals

When you make your balloon animals, there is a technique that you can use to lock your twists so that they are less likely to come undone as you are creating your balloon animals. It can be done quickly and gives you a better quality balloon animal.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Blow up your balloon and tie it securely. Use a high quality latex balloon. The higher the quality, the less likely the balloon with pop on you as you make your balloon animals. Balloons that pop often can scare children and make it frustrating to make your balloon animals.

2. Hold the balloon in both hands and twist once.

3. Go down the balloon and twist the balloon in a separate area. Make sure that you have left enough space to fold it in half enough to look like legs, ears or whatever you are making with your balloon.

4. Fold the balloon in the center between the 2 twisted areas.

5. Put the 2 twisted spots together and hold the balloon so that these spots are aligned.

6. Pull the twists apart just a little and twist both of these together into a single coil. Now this area is "locked" and will not easily come apart.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you pull the twisted areas apart before twisting the 2 twists into one. This is the most important part of the step and serves to lock the twist.
• You can also fold over an area without twisting first and hold the balloon together, then twist them into one. Make sure you pinch the area that you will be twisting first, which takes the place of pulling the twisted areas apart. This is a little harder to do, but as you get better, you can make your animals faster when you cut corners.