Hula Hoop Tutorial

We recently went to an outdoor concert where we were entertained by a lovely Eco Fairy doing some hula hooping. There was a heap of spare  hula hoops for the kids to join in but Mr 8 was too shy, which got me thinking... why don't we make these at home? So that is exactly what we did!

I had a look online for custom handmade hula hoops and a large hoop which is ideal for beginners, retails for around $35! I made two hoops, one for Mr 8 and one for myself for a fraction of that price and still have leftover materials to make more!

To make a hula hoop you will need:

19mm poly drip irrigation tubing (mine was from Bunnings)
A 19mm barbed joiner for each hula hoop
Scissors or pruning shears
Coloured tape, sheet of silver book adhesive or washi tape for decorating

Unfortunately I could only find the 19mm tubing in a 25 metre length. But on the positive side, now I can make ALL the hula hoops! these would make great gifts as well.

First off you will need to measure out your hula hoop. A good rule of thumb is for a beginners hoop, the bigger the better. The hoop should come at least up to your waist when in it's on it's side.

Unwind the tubing and hold it up against your body so it reaches waist height. Mark  where you need to make the cut with a bit of tape.

Cut the tubing with some garden pruners or scissors.You will now have long length of tubing.
















 In a medium sized container pour in some boiling water and hold one of the tubing ends in the hot water for about 20 seconds. This will make the end pliable enough to attach the connector. 

Push the connector into the plastic tubing. Then repeat the process with the other end of the tube so that both cut ends are now attached to the connector.

The join in the hoop should look like this. If you just want a plain black hoop, then your DIY hoop is good to go. But if you prefer yours a bit fancy, keep reading.

I bought a pack of coloured insulation tape from Kmart. I also had a couple rolls of silver adhesive book covering that I got for 50c each last year, so I used those to decorate Mr 8's hoop as well. The stuff I have is similar to this. 

Starting at the join, and at a slight angle, wrap the insulation tape carefully around the tubing until it is all the way around. I think it looks good just like this, but if you want to add some sparkle, cut the silver adhesive into 1-2cm lengths depending on how big your black gaps are. Mr 8 wanted his to be black, red and silver so I positioned the silver tape to go in between the black tubing and red tape. This part takes a while so just take your time. 







Because you know I'm all about being frugal, everything I buy has to be as cheap as possible.
Here is the pricing for a DIY hula hoop:

25 metres of poly tubing: $14.90- works out to be 60c per metre
Barbed joiners: 75c each 
Insulation tape: $2.50 for a pack of 5
Silver adhesive: $1.00 for 2 rolls on sale

With these materials it would cost around $2.40 per hula hoop. 

I've been practicing every day but still can't keep the hoop up for more than a couple of rotations. However, Mr 8 is becoming a pro!

Happy hooping everyone!