Balloon arches have become a favorite decoration go-to for any party or special occasion. Whether it’s a wedding, bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party, or anniversary party, a balloon arch can take the event from drab to fab.
So, how to make a balloon arch? To make a balloon arch, there are a few different methods, depending on the design you’re hoping to achieve. You can choose to make a balloon arch by securing balloons onto a frame, or by securing the balloons to a fishing wire or balloon tape for a balloon arch garland.
Luckily for balloon amateurs and experts alike, there’s no one right way to make a balloon arch. You just need to know the basic steps for each available method, as well as some tips and tricks for making the best balloon arch you can.
Basic Balloon Arch Methods
There are three main methods for creating a balloon arch: balloons secured to a frame, balloons connected by fishing line, or balloons connected by balloon tape.
The first method requires you to either build your own arch frame (which I will provide steps for below), or to acquire a balloon arch frame that someone else has built.
Balloon arches made on frames are best for outdoor parties where the wind and natural elements may affect the sturdiness of your balloon structure.
A balloon arch frame will help keep your balloon arch steady and give it a nice, clean look. The other two methods, using either fishing line or balloon tape, are best for making balloon arch garlands.
Balloon arch garlands have less of a stable structure. They’re flexible, made to hang up on hooks against a wall or backdrop. They can be hung in the traditional balloon arch shape, or in a more whimsical, sweeping slope.
These are best to be used indoors where elements won’t blow the balloon arch off of the hooks. You can use a balloon arch garland outside if it has a backdrop to hang on, but be sure to make it secure to prevent any damage to your balloon arch.
Supplies For Making A Balloon Arch
There are many supplies for making a balloon arch, and you won’t need all of them for every project. Before I break things down, let’s take a look at the overall supplies list for the balloons portion of your balloon arch:
- Balloons
- Balloon pump (electric or hand)
- Balloon tape and glue dots
- Fishing line
- Large blunt needle
- Hooks for hanging finished project
To make your own arch frame for the balloons, you’ll also need the supplies below:
- 2 pieces of ¾” thick 24 x 24” plywood
- 2 pieces ¾” floor flanges
- 8 Plywood screws
- 8 Washers
- 2 pieces ¾” x 8” metal pipes
- 2 pieces ½” electrical conduits (EMT) pre-cut in 2-ft long sections
- 3 pieces of grey PVC pipe with bell ends pre-cut to size
- Duct tape
Some of these items can be bought online, such as the supplies for the balloon part of your balloon arch. If you’re going to make your own arch frame, those supplies are better off being purchased at your local hardware store.
You likely won’t need both balloon tape and fishing line – instead, you can choose one or the other, depending on the method you want to use.
You may still need a small amount of fishing line for hanging your balloon arch, but if you’re using balloon tape, you won’t need it for crafting the garland itself.
Some people recommend using a low-heat glue gun instead of glue dots, but even on low heat, you may run the risk of ruining or popping some of your balloons. Glue dots are easier and safer to work with.
The glue dots are handy for covering up those empty gaps that will appear once you hang up the balloon arch.
As you string the balloons onto the fishing line or balloon tape, you may not see any noticeable gaps. However, once it’s hung in place, there will be areas where you can see straight through to the middle.
These empty areas are best covered by placing glue dots onto a smaller balloon and sticking it to two balloons where the empty area is.
Although you can certainly use a hand balloon pump, I highly recommend using an electric balloon pump. These will blow up your balloons much faster with much less work on your part.
How To Make A Balloon Arch Frame
If you need to make a balloon arch that will hold its shape nicely and stand on its own without support from a wall, then you’ll need to create a balloon arch frame. Make sure you pick up the supplies I listed above as necessary for making a balloon arch frame.
Once you’ve gathered all of your supplies, follow the steps below to make a balloon arch stand with PVC pipe:
- Sand the edges of both plywood squares to ensure there are no rough edges on the wood. This will protect your hands while you’re working.
- Paint the plywood squares. I recommend choosing a neutral color that will blend into the background, such as white or black, but you can also use a color that fits in with your balloon arch color scheme. If you’re making a balloon arch with 3 different shades of pink, why not paint the plywood pink?
- After the plywood is sanded and painted, you’re ready to secure the poles on your base. Start by marking the center of your plywood and laying down your floor flange, marking the 4 holes for screws.
- Using a power drill, drill holes where your screws will go. Pre-drilling the holes for your screws will help them stay secure better.
- Line up your floor flange again, then lay down a washer on top of each hole, then screw in each of your plywood screws. You’ll need 1 floor flange and 4 plywood screws and washers per plywood.
- With the floor flange securely in place, you can now screw in the 8” metal pipe. This will be the bottom part of your base.
- At this point, you can move your bases and other materials outside or wherever your final balloon arch will be. Lay your bases far enough apart for your PVC pipes to connect to each other and create an arch from one base to another.
- Drop your piece of 24” long pre-cut electrical conduit into the 8” metal pipe. The metal pipe should be ¾” wide and the electrical conduit should be ½” wide, so the electrical conduit will slip right into the metal pipe. (Be sure that the ends of the electrical conduit have been taped with duct tape prior to handling to prevent injury).
- The exact length of your PVC pipe pieces will vary. The key is to ensure that you have 3 PVC pieces instead of just 2, so there isn’t too much weight on a joint in the middle of the arch. Connect your 3 PVC pieces with the bell ends, then slip each regular end over the electrical conduits.
- Duct tape the part where the end of the PVC pipe meets the top of the metal pipe. This will ensure your arch frame is secure and won’t come loose in heavy winds.
- You can also add duct tape over the 2 joints where you’ve connected your 3 PVC pipe pieces. This will also add another layer of security.
And that’s it! Once all the pieces are in place and taped for good measure, you’re all done! You now have a balloon arch stand with PVC pipe that’s ready for use to create the balloon arch of your dreams.
I’ll go into more detail on how to add the balloons to your new balloon arch frame below in the section How to Make A Balloon Arch Outside.
For a more visual tutorial, check out this video from Event Answer. You’ll get to see each step in action, with helpful tips and suggested measurements.
How To Make A Balloon Arch With String
To avoid the fuss of making your own balloon arch frame, you can choose to either make your balloon arch with string or with balloon tape.
First, let’s explore making your balloon arch with string. There are two ways to do this – with a needle or by wrapping the string by hand – and I’ll teach you both ways below.
For both string methods, you’ll need the following supplies:
- Balloons
- Balloon pump (electric or hand)
- Fishing line
- Large blunt needle (optional)
- Hooks for hanging finished project
As I mentioned above, an electric balloon pump will make this process go by a lot faster, but you can always use a hand pump if that’s all you have around.
When you have all your supplies ready, it’s time to get started.
- Blow up all of your balloons. As you blow them up, you can either blow them up and tie them individually or blow up two balloons at the same time and tie their ends together.
- If you kept your balloons as singles, it works best to string them using a large blunt needle and fishing line. Continue to step 3 for instructions. If you tied your balloons together as doubles, skip to step 6.
- Measure out a long piece of fishing line. This should be about twice as long as you might think, so you can ensure you have enough. You can always cut off the excess at the end.
- Secure the fishing line to your needle with a knot, then poke the blunt end of the needle through the end of your balloon knot. This should be the excess balloon material at the end of the knot, so it won’t pop your balloon. Secure the end of the fishing line to this balloon knot so it won’t fall off.
- Continue stringing on the rest of your balloons. If you used different colors or sizes, be sure to alternate as you go to create a dynamic looking balloon arch garland. Go to step 9 when done.
- For those who tied their balloon ends together into balloon pairs, it’s time to start connecting! Take one of your balloon pairs and tie the string around their connected knot. Make sure the string is securely attached.
- Lay your next balloon pair on top of this one at a perpendicular, 90-degree angle. Take the string and wrap it around the base of one of the top two balloons, then around the base of one of your bottom two balloons, ending with the string back on top. You’ll wrap it over the top, around the bottom, then back up each time.
- Continue doing this figure-8 wrapping pattern as you add new balloon pairs. Always lay the pairs perpendicular to the pair before it, and always make sure to wrap the string around one of the top balloons and one of the balloons in the pair underneath.
- With all balloons secured to your fishing line, tie it off into a secure knot. You may want to consider creating a loop with the ending fishing line to help you hang the balloon arch.
- Add small loops of fishing line throughout your balloon arch garland so you can hang them on the hooks you’ve prepared for placement.
And you’re done! Now that the balloon garland has been made, you can hang it up to create a balloon arch without a stand. These look great for indoor parties like baby showers, bridal showers, or birthday parties.
For a video tutorial, check out this video from Press Print Party! They do a great job of demonstrating the balloon pairs tied with a figure-8 method.
You can also check out this video tutorial from Gustavo GG where he uses groupings of 4 balloons with the same basic principle of wrapping each balloon cluster with fishing wire.
How To Make A Balloon Arch Without Wire
You can also make a balloon arch without a stand without having to use fishing line. Instead, you can use a great product called balloon tape!
Balloon tape comes with little holes along a long plastic strand that you can cut as long or as short as you want your balloon arch to be.
This can be easier to work with than trying to add balloons to a string, but it does leave a little more open gaps along the strand that will need filling in later.
For those, you’ll use glue dots!
To make a balloon arch without wire or string, you’ll need:
- Balloons
- Balloon pump (electric or hand)
- Balloon tape and glue dots
- Fishing line (optional for hanging)
- Hooks for hanging finished project
When you’ve gathered the supplies above, you can get started on your balloon arch with the steps below:
- Blow up all of your balloons using either your hand or electric pump. As mentioned above, I recommend using an electric balloon pump over a hand pump. It may cost a little extra, but it’s worth the investment. Tie up all of your balloons individually – no pairs here. You’ll also need to ensure that you’re blowing up some big balloons and some small balloons.
- Using the balloon tape, pull the ends of the balloons through the holes in the balloon tape. Make sure you pull until the knot has made it through the hole. You want to use the big balloons for this, and only put one balloon in each hole. It also looks good to alternate what side of the tape you’re putting the balloon in from.
- Once you’ve filled your desired length of balloon tape with balloons, cut off the excess balloon tape. Tie fishing wire in loops around the balloon tape in a few places to use to hang up the balloon arch.
- Hang up the balloon arch in your prepared space, hanging the fishing line loops onto the hooks on the wall or backdrop.
- With the balloon arch hung, you can now get a better idea of where your gaps are. Fill in the gaps of your balloon arch with the smaller balloons. Place a glue dot on two sides of the small balloon, then nestle it into a gap, making sue the glue dots are sticking to tow of the larger balloons.
After you’ve filled in all the gaps in your balloon arch, you’re all done!
This method can be an easier way to create a balloon arch without a stand that doesn’t use fishing line or wire. The knots are secure in the balloon tape, and the gaps are stylistically filled with smaller balloons for a big, full look.
To see this method in action, check out this short video (first one we’ve linked) from Party Delights or the longer video by Party Dash (second one we’ve linked).
The short video will give you a quick overview, while the longer video has the added bonus of showing you how to hang it when you’re done.
How To Make A Balloon Arch Outside
For making a balloon arch outside, we recommend starting with a frame. This will provide you the stability you need to endure the elements.
The great thing about using an arch frame is that now, all you need is your balloons!
- Prepare your balloons by blowing them up, tying them in pairs, then connecting the pairs to create clusters of 4 balloons. This can be done easily by laying one pair perpendicular on top of another pair, then twisting one of the bottom balloons with one of the top balloons. You can see this in action in the video we linked above from Gustavo GG.
- With a cluster of 4 balloons, hold it horizontally and slide it against the pole of your arch frame. The pole will slide in between 2 of your balloons and rest against the cluster of balloon knots in the middle.
- Twist the two balloons wedging the pole around each other. One will swing over the other, and one will swing under the other. This simple twist will secure your balloon cluster to the pole.
- Repeat this process with each of your clusters of 4 balloons, building your way up the poles and PVC pipes of your balloon arch frame. Make sure that as you’re stacking, you’re alternating the orientation of the balloon clusters. With each new layer, a balloon should nestle in the empty space between 2 balloons below it.
And that’s it! Once you’ve filled up the whole frame with balloons, you can step back and admire your work.
For a video tutorial, check out the video below from Ask Me For A Balloon. They do a great job of demonstrating how to put together a balloon arch outdoors for those who need a quick outside balloon arch set-up.
Tips And Tricks To Making A Balloon Arch
There are a few tips and tricks that you should always keep in mind when making a balloon arch. Some of these tips are universal, and some will only apply to certain methods listed above.
The first universal tip is not to overfill your balloons. It can be tempting to fill the balloon as large as it can go, but this will lead to more balloons popping and an uneven overall look.
Instead, fill your balloons only until they make a circle. You can make them large and small circles, but make sure they have that smooth, soft, circular shape.
When using an electric balloon pump, it’s common to overfill the balloons. Don’t worry! Simply pinch the balloon opening and release your fingers just a bit to let go of the excess air.
As you’re making your balloons, be sure to keep large balloons and small balloons in separate piles, as needed.
Not every balloon arch has different sized balloons, but if yours does, it works better to keep your balloons organized by size. This will make assembly easier and quicker.
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