How this came about is kind of a long story but the result is the same: I made hula hoops! I know what you're thinking. What? Hula hoops are an element. They just exist. Like oxygen or marshmallows, they can't be made...right? Wrong! They can! And it is super easy (mostly). The great thing is that the homemade hoops are strong and heavy, which makes hooping (or learning to hoop) so much easier. You can see the size differences in the photo. The littlest one is from the store and the fat 1" um, well-taped hoop in the picture is one I bought from my hula hoop teacher (I did mention it was a long story, remember?)
There is a really good tutorial here but I made mine a little differently since I had a hard time finding the right size irrigation line and I was too impatient to wait. Instead of the black irrigation tubing in the tutorial, I used 3/4" flexible white PVC (in the plumbing department) which came in a 25 ft roll for about $15. It made two perfect sized hoops with just a small scrap leftover (that my boys take turns beating each other with. See? Hooping is fun for the whole family!) Then, instead of using 3/4" couplers (same as the pipe) like the tut says, I connected mine with 1/2" couplers which didn't require any heating, just a really strong grip to push them together. I also duct taped the connection, like in the tut, for a little added strength. The writing on the PVC pipe comes off (mostly) with rubbing alcohol but you can leave it if you are adding lots of tape. Speaking of tape, check out this video before you start. Who knew taping a hoop was such an involved process?! I sure didn't. Which explains my taping job... Anyway, once your hoops are ready check this page for links to just about everything you ever wanted to know about hula hoops (including hooping tutorials) and get going!
I am headed to Home Depot FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!! Can't wait to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: C | May 29, 2009 at 10:08 PM
i actually prefer not well-taped to well-taped...where you get your ideas, I will never know.
Posted by: lea | May 30, 2009 at 12:53 PM
I am so excited about this! My girls and I put together a list of 50 fun things to do this summer. On the list are "Hula hoop" and "Make crafts" so this is the perfect two-fer!
Posted by: Heather | June 01, 2009 at 02:44 PM
Yay! Y'all are going to love it!
Btw, if you don't want to tape you can just rough up the inside with some fine grit sand paper to improve the grip. Have fun!
Posted by: kara | June 01, 2009 at 11:15 PM