How to Make a Giant Soap Bubble Wand
Ever since I saw this jaw-droppingly awesome video by toubaboo, I wanted to make giant soap bubbles. After looking at several videos and photos of people doing this online, I went out to Home Depot to get a few things. To make a giant bubble wand, there aren’t a lot of components. It’s actually pretty easy!
First – two dowel rods. The ones I picked were sized to 7/16 x 48″.
Next up, some string. I’m not sure if there’s an ideal thickness to go for, whether it’s better to be really thin or really ultra-thick. This bit was on the thinner side.
And finally, a weight to hold down the string at the bottom of the loop. I got a plain 12mm hex nut (although you don’t need it to be as heavy or as big as this). In hindsight, I think a much lighter weight would have been fine/preferable.
My original idea was to drill holes through each rod, and run the string through. Liz, however, brilliant person that she is… suggested I use eye hooks instead.
Here she is, serving as a really expensive clamp. She’s pretty brave…
… because I’m really good with power tools.
Perfectly center. It may look off, due to the angle of the camera lens… but let me assure you. Perfectly center. Now let’s never speak of this again.
Once the hole was drilled, we screwed in the eye hook. AT this point, you’re almost home free.
Simply measure out the amount of rope you want to use, slide it between both eye hooks. Right before tying off the string, make sure to slide in your weight.
Your finished giant bubble wand should look something like this. Basically, it’s one large loop of string, with a small weight at the bottom.
Huge Caveat: Despite having this awesome wand, my intial attempt with giant bubbles didn’t pan out so well. The formula I used was: 1 part Dawn, 10 parts Distilled Water, .25 Parts Glycerine. I’m pretty certain I got the measurements right, and while we were able to make bubbles… none of them were as large as the wand (they were maybe about 1/4 of the size).
Not sure what was off with the formula, so I’m in search of a new one. Any suggestions? Preferably something that’s a little easier to come by than Glycerine.
Hopefully, I can give this another go before it gets too cold outside. Though it largely failed, this was a wonderful experiment and I had a lot of fun in the attempts. Trial and error, my friends… trial and error.
Related:
Alone With Giant Soap Bubbles
Blowing Bubbles with Paige
Playing with Zubbles: Blowing Colored Bubbles in the Kitchen
Zubbles: Colored Bubbles Now Available for Pre-Order
Thanks for the ideas on making a giant wand, I just picked up some glycerine today, so im waiting for my first bubble mix attempt to cool and set overnight, then I’ll give it a try. Meantime, I’m making a wand. I’ve heard that synthetic string doesn’t work so well because it’s not so absorbent, so apparantly it’s best to use cotton string.Hope this helpsJared (New Zealand)
Jared Grant (November 18, 2010 at 1:22 am)Thanks for the great pictures!
roisin walsh (March 16, 2011 at 1:41 pm)http://www.wetrock.com/BBM/bbm.html#SecretLoved your directions! You really should get that ‘camera angle’ fixed though… that hole DID look a little off.My wands are similar to yours, but I had been tying one big circle of string, then connecting the circle to the dowels with two other little strings. I am going to try your style.I began searching for the perfect wand and recipe about 3 years ago. I LOVE BIG BUBBLES! They really fascinate me. The link above has what looks like an awesome recipe I want to try, but I have been using one from the Bubble Fairy: http://www.bubblefairy.com/formulas.htm My husband thinks I am nuts. Just read ‘The Bubble Manifesto’ on that link. That guy feels the same way I do about bubbling. lol BTW, experiment w 100% cotton string and see if you have better results.
Lisa S (May 4, 2011 at 8:46 pm)Fun article! I used your design, but found a simple way to improve its bubblability and the ease of rigging and changing its string …Instead of feeding the string through the eye hooks, as it appears in the photo, you can do this:1) Cut a string to the total length of the loop you want.2) With the washer/weight strung, knot its 2 ends together and cut the extra nibs off.3) Make a loop of the knotted end, and knot the loop about 1″ up.4) The resulting loop can be attached to an eyelet by simply putting it through the hole and pulling it over and around.5) Do the same with another loop and stick, at an agreeable distance from the top string.When the bubble film opens to the top corners of the loop, it’s surrounded by only string. There’s no wood or metal to interfere with fluid flow. I’ve seen toddlers pull off a decent bubble on their 1st try!Changing strings is easy, and with clip-on weights instead of washers, you can experiment with various types of cords very easily.
Anonymous (August 4, 2011 at 12:48 pm)6 cups water 2 cups Dawn dishwashing liquid 3/4 cup light corn syrup
Mix all ingredients together in a LARGE container of sorts…an empty water bottle, milk jug, etc. Shake everything up and let sit for a few hours.
Kami (July 3, 2012 at 3:00 pm)For better giant bubble recipes, visit http://soapbubble.wikia.com
Water and detergent need some help that glycerine can’t supply. There are many readily available ingredients that can be used to create whale-sized bubbles
Edward (September 8, 2012 at 11:40 pm)This is a great resource! And it makes me want to give the whole bubble thing another whirl.
Thanks, Edward!
avoision (September 10, 2012 at 7:52 am)I think using more of a cotton-based string helps?
Doug Doebbert (June 26, 2013 at 12:57 pm)Definitely on the list of things to try differently, next time around. Thanks, Doug!
avoision (June 26, 2013 at 2:57 pm)I think you will have better luck with both a better bubble recipe and better loop (wick) material.
This recipe uses easy to find ingredients and is much much better than the recipe you tried
http://soapbubble.wikia.com/wiki/Recipes_Guar
That Mason’s line doesn’t work well. The wiki has a page with some suggested materials.
http://soapbubble.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_Started_With_Tri-Strings
If you need help, contact me through the wiki.
Edward (July 2, 2013 at 12:38 am)you can make bubbles im the winter too. if its cold enough, they will freeze into a rainbow sphere. real cool.
todd (July 9, 2013 at 12:04 pm)Your mixture is fine – the trick with the strength of bubble liquid is this; The longer you leave it in an open container, the stronger it will be. In addition, the wider the container, the stronger it will be; expose as much as possible to the air!
Rachel Evans (August 20, 2014 at 2:43 pm)Mix 1 bottle of dawn pure essentials soap with 1 tbs of j-lube powder (comes from farm feed supple stores)snd 3 gal of warm water. these are very strong bubbles and take a bit before they pop
Tara (July 20, 2015 at 4:04 pm)