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!
