Standard-Shaped Balloon (traditional hot air balloon)
8-foot balloon
This balloon will take from 3 to 4 hours to make with a single person. If you make a lot of
these you will find that they get easier to make. I can make one in about 2 1/2 hours.
Supplies:
16 Hefty Basics 30 gal. black bags OR 0.4 MIL 30 gal. Ruffies bags
Roll of masking tape (you might need a little more than one roll), or several rolls of Scotch tape
Scissors
Instructions:
Cut open all the bags and lay two on the floor as shown below.
Tape them together and use small pieces of tape to anchor them to the floor. Repeat this until all of your bagss are used up - there should be a stack of 8 10x3 ft. sheets.
Fold the stack of bags in half, as shown.
Use tape to mark the folded stack as shown below. Try to match this shape and your balloon should turn out well.
One by one, tape the gores together, making sure all the tape is on the same side.
Finish all 8 gores.
Invert the balloon like a sock so all the tape is on the inside of the balloon.
Your balloon is now finished! The mouth might be too big - see the illustration below to
attach a simple "skirt" to the mouth.
Once you tape this onto the mouth, trim off any extra and seal the two short ends together to
make a "skirt" for your balloon.
