Balloon Garland DIY

Let’s chat BALLOON GARLANDS!

I feel like I see them evvverywhere these days- which makes me so happy! They make such a statement, but with minimal effort! They may seem intimidating, but I promise you, you do not need to hire a professional for yours! I’m going to show you a quick and easy way to make your own for all your upcoming parties & events!

Y O U W I L L N E E D

A large sewing needle with a large eye. The larger the needle, the easier it will be.

String You can use so many different types (I would NOT recommend using thread as it can break, as well as not hold the weight of the garland ) I’ve used yarn, twine, fishing line, just to name a few!.. I recommend using something clear like fishing line, a neutral color string, or something that matches your color scheme.

Balloons The garland in the photo is about 4.5-5 Ft long and has about 20 balloons. A good rule of thumb is about 5 balloons per foot.

Scissors
Scotch Tape(you may or may not need this- it is helpful when stringing your string through the eye of the needle if it's thicker)
Tacks, Tape or hooks(for hanging garland)

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Choose your balloon colors. You can make a garland with only 1 color, up to as many as you’d like! Pick colors that match the theme of your party or event.

Next, let’s talk balloon sizes. Garlands look best when there is a noticeable difference between the balloon sizes. So to achieve this, there are a few different ways.

1- you can buy your balloons in multiple sizes. The downside to this is, you will have quite a bit of balloons & it’s more expensive. I would recommend this method if you are making multiple garlands, or a large garland.
2- My personal favorite way- Buy 1 size. Yes, 1 size. (around 11-13in balloons work best) I know this sounds contradicting to what I just said about multiple sizes-But you can totally achieve the same look with 1 size. I’ll explain how below!

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F I R S T S T E P

Blow up your balloons. Grab some friends or family & blow the balloons up the old fashioned way! Or You can use a manual pump, or my most favorite way- electric balloon pump. I got mine on amazon here- and not to sound dramatic ..but.. it’s been life changing haha! If you are planning on making these more than once or twice, it’s definitely worth the purchase!

You will want to blow up your balloons in THREE different sizes. Small, medium and large. If you purchased your balloons in different sizes, just fill them all up to a little less than all the way full. If you only bought 1 size, this is my hack- You can achieve the appearance of different sized balloons just based on how much air you put in them. So for a small, only use a little bit, medium a little more and large, fill up most of the balloon. You can just eyeball them & they don't need to be perfect! Balloon garlands are VERY forgiving!(The balloons in the photo below are all 11" balloons but they look like 3 different sizes)

Garlands they look best if the balloons appear to be more round than oblong. Here’s a photo of the difference.

To achieve the round look, you can easily shape your balloons so they are more round. Once full, before you tie them, push the end of the balloon against a wall, your leg, or between your hands to squish it together a bit. Keep pushing it until you achieve a round shape you like! (It’s easier than it sounds.) Focus most on the larger balloons because the small and medium tend to be more round naturally.

Tip- fill up one color at a time and go in order, small, medium then large. Then repeat. Then move on to the next color. This will help you to make sure you have an even amount of sizes but again-don't worry too much because remember- garlands are so forgiving.

Once all your balloons are filled, you will now add your string to your needle. Once it’s through, no need to tie a knot, just make sure there is enough string through the other end so the needle doesn’t slip off.

Tip- if you are having a hard time adding the string through the eye of the needle, add a small piece of scotch tape to the end and flatten it with your fingers. Then push it through the eye and it will be much easier!

Next you will start string on the balloons! Push the needle through the end of the balloon underneath the knot of the balloon.

Add one color, and size balloon, and then for your next balloon try to do something opposite in size and color if you can (unless you are doing one color balloon garland then just make sure to alternate sizes). For example with mine here I started with a small white, then medium pink followed by a large gold.

Keep in mind the balloons will totally shift and move so don’t worry about getting them on perfectly in some order because it won’t matter once they are all on the string. You can always move things around and adjust them afterward.

As you add balloons, slide them down into the bunch and push them together so they are nice and snug. You want to try to avoid large gaps/holes. Continue adding balloons until you have no more.

After all your balloons are on the string, cut your string but make sure to leave enough space on both ends for hanging! It's better to have a really long piece on both sides because you can always cut off the excess after, but it's a lot harder to add more.

Depending on where you hang it, you can use thumb tags, tape or even command hooks! If you do command hooks, tie the ends of your strings so they are in a loop and can fit over the hook.

And that's it!! It really is so much easier than you'd ever think! + You can also make these ahead of time so it's one less thing to worry about! To be on the safe side I probably wouldn't make it more than a week ahead (but these seriously last so long, so if you needed to, you could go longer). It's nice because if the balloons deflate a little you can't ever really tell since the balloons are all different sizes anyway!

To watch a step by step tutorial & for more tips visit my "balloon" highlight on instagram!