Back in Time :: Hooping Family, April 2012

Since I closed down my old personal blog and also no longer posts on our homeschool blog Canadian Home Learning, I will occasionally share some of my favourite archived posts here. 


Here is one about our adventure into hoop making from last April:

We made hoops last night!

I have been wanting to make hoops for at least two years! I had a hard time finding the right material for making hula hoops, but finally after reading more information, I decided to try a slightly different poly tubing that the one recommended.

Making your own hoops as opposed to buying them is much more cost effective if you need to make several, for your kids or with a group of friends.

Most sites that explain how to make your own hula hoops recommend using flexible polyethylene tubing (irrigation tubing) of 3/4 inch 160PSI. I couldn't find any of that PSI number in our local hardware/home reno centres. The highest I could find was 75PSI.

I decided to give it a try and came home with 100 ft of 1inch 75PSI. I added 1 cup of water to my hoop to make it a little heavier. I have read many times that heavier is easier for beginners.

Here are the supplies we used:

- 100 ft of 1 inch flexible poly tubing
- 1 inch coupling or connectors for the tubing (1 per hula hoop)
- 1 PVC cutter
- Hot water
- Duct tape to secure opening
- Electrical tape to decorate the hoops

I followed the directions from JasonUnbound: How to make a hula hoop.

It's very simple! I first measured the tubing to my size (recommended is between your belly button and your chest) and cut the tubing. I used hot water instead of a blow dryer. I dipped one end of the tubing in the hot water for about 30 seconds and inserted the coupling, then dip the other end and put them together.

We used electrical tape to decorate the hoops. We had picked up some hockey tape and used that on two hoops. We wanted something more decorative but I wouldn't recommend it, it was quickly ripped when the kids dropped their hoops on the driveway.

We had to try our new homemade hoops right away, even if it was almost 10pm! You can see the kids in the mosaic at the top of the post, bottom right picture. It was so much fun, but we tried to keep quiet. After all, most of the kids on the street were in bed!

Today, we all couldn't wait to hoop again!

We went in our backyard right after we finished our homeschool stuff! The kids love hooping, they are naturals!

I am so pleased with our homemade hoops. Mine is heavy and perfect for me. I am a true beginner. Every time I have tried to hula hoop with my kids' cheap store hoops in the past, I couldn't never keep it going. Those were too light and small for me! I needed a heavier hoop, and now that I made it, I am having a ton of fun.