Basic Balloon Twisting
Steven Mayhew , CBA

These twists below are a few examples of a wide variety of twists that are used. Try to follow along with the instructions below to learn the basics when twisting.

Inch Twist
An Inch twist is just a simple twist in the balloon at a certain measurement. When the directions say make a 3” twist that mean that you need to travel 3” on the balloon and then make a twist.

Pinch Twist/ Ear Twist
Inflate a 260Q leaving 7” un-inflated. Make a 6” twist followed by a 1” bubble. (So you should now have 2 twists in your balloon.
Now bring both sides of the 260Q down so they are butting up against each other with the 1” bubble sitting on top.
Grasp both balloons underneath the bubble with you left and  and place the 1” bubble into the palm of your right hand
Grab onto the bubble with your right hand and twist both sides together. You will know you have achieved the pinch twist when the bubble now looks like an ear…otherwise known as an ear twist

Lock Twist
Inflate a 260Q, leaving 6” un-inflated. Make a 9” twist and bring the neck of balloon down to meet the twist in the balloon. Wrap the neck around the twist three times and then insert the neck through the loop and pull it down to lock it.

Tips:
Have problems tying the neck of your balloons to itself or something else?
Inflate your entertainer balloon to your desired length. BEFORE tying your balloon pinch of the balloon two inches from the neck and deflate the 2” section and tie it off. This gives you a lot more latex to work with when tying!

Need to shorten your entertainer balloon?
Pinch or twist the point that you would like to have the air deflate to and cut the un-inflated part of a 260Q. Tie off the end and snip off the excess.