1. First, you need to create a fairly hard round bubble in the balloon.

1.a It’s important to have at least 4 twists in the balloon before and after this round bubble.

1.b It is also important to have these 2 twists, twisted to the same direction (otherwise the round bubble will come undone).

2. After you have a round (and a hard) bubble, place the two bubbles that are located before and after the round bubble, parallel to each other.

3. Grab the round bubble, pull it just a bit, and twist it 2 time (The idea is to lock the 2 twists from both sides of the round bubble together).

4. And this is it. Congratulations for your pinch twist

You can create a pinch twist in any kind of a long balloon (AKA modelling balloons).

Modelling balloons has a few sizes, like 260 balloons , 350 (or 360) balloons, 160 balloons and 646 (or 660) balloons.

(260 balloons are the most common size of modelling balloons).

That means you can practice not only on 260 balloons but also on 350 balloons, 160 balloon and even on 646 (or 660) balloons.

• If you need to create a pinch twist in the beginning of the balloon, you should treat the knot of the balloon as if it was the bubble that is located just before the pinch twist.

• A pinch twist is commonly used to create ears within balloon characters, and that’s why it’s also called an “ear twist”.

• Pinch twists are very useful for creating ears, noses and it is also great for stabilizing various parts of the balloon sculpture.

• Many students create an oval bubble instead of creating a round bubble. This is a mistake since a pinch twist that is based on an oval bubble will have a greater tendency of popping and will also look unaesthetic.

• A very common mistake is to turn the twists of the round bubble one or two times only, instead of twisting them 4 times.

Please check our great balloon modelling video courses

If you ever tried to mouth inflate a modelling balloon you probably noticed that it is a very difficult thing to do.

Most people won’t be able to mouth inflate a modelling balloon because of its pressure.

In this video balloon artist Barak Dagan will teach you how to practice mouth inflation of a modelling balloon

If you ever tried to inflate a long balloon (AKA a modelling balloon) using your mouth you probably found it as a very difficult mission… That’s because of the shape of modelling balloons. Their long and thin shape creates a great pressure that makes it difficult to inflate them using your mouth.

How come that some people are able to inflate a modelling balloon with their mouth?

What is their secret? Is there a method?

In short – There is no way to inflate these long balloon with your mouth without practicing it again and again.

It is really a hard thing to do, and there’s no little tip that could cause you to inflate a modelling balloon using your mouth right away…

If you’re unable of inflating the balloon with your mouth (like most people), The only way to practice it, is to first inflate the balloon with a pump, and then, take the air out of it. That will create an easier-to-inflate balloon, which you could use to practice mouth inflating.

1. Take the modelling balloon’s nozzle and place it in your mouth.

2. Support the balloon’s nozzle with one hand, and hold the end of the modelling balloon with your other hand.

3. Give a little stretch to the balloon while pushing a small amount of air using your mouth into the balloon.

4. This should create a little bubble right next to your mouth.

5. Take a deep breath and push a lot of air into the balloon while you keep holding the balloon as it getting bigger and bigger.

1. As a professional balloon artist I must say that I try to avoid inflating any balloon using my mouth!

2. There are two reasons for that:

2a. Mouth inflating can be dangerous. If the balloon pops while you inflate it, it can hit your eye in a bad way…

2b. Mouth inflating usually causes a temporary pain in the inner side of the cheeks.

2c. I prefer to put my efforts in twisting the balloon, and not in inflating it

3. Try to keep you cheeks flat while you inflate the balloon.

Don’t forget to check our great courses about balloon twisting

In order to tie a balloon you need to have an inflated balloon first…

I recommend you to inflate balloons using a balloon pump and not with your mouth.

Honestly, I think that inflating a balloon with your mouth is an unnecessary effort (especially if you’re going to inflate a few balloons or even more…).

Another thing about mouth inflating is that the balloon can pop while you inflate it, and might slap you, which can be very painful.

After you have an inflated balloon, grab the neck of the balloon with your index and middle finger against your thumb, at the area that is closer to inflated part of the balloon.

You should use only the 3 fingers I have mentioned above (There’s no need to use here your ring finger nor your pinky).

Your hand and the balloon should create an upside down “V” shape.

Take your other hand and pass it inside the upside down “V”.

Now, grab the end of the nozzle of the balloon and stretch it to the opposite side, far from the balloon.

Then, pull your hand back, in between the upside down “V”

And from there, tuck it in between your index and your middle finger.

The only thing you have left now in order to tie your balloon is to pass the stretched nozzle, which in now stretched over your 2 finger, over the balloon’s nozzle (and over your fingernails).

And that’s it! You can now leave the neck of the balloon, and it will stay tied

We have many GREAT balloon decoration courses that you have to check!