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2 Balloon Weave/ Flat weave
The two balloon weave or flat weave is probably one of the simplest to learn. It's a very useful little technique and can be applied to many different sculptures. Many of the top balloon artists will often use a two balloon weave in a design. Don Caldwell uses it for beer mugs, haunted houses and road-kill, Ralph Dewey uses it for cars and crabs and David Grist uses it for cellphones, spiders and as part of many of his larger sculptures.

An example of it being put to use at balloondesigns is on the Sponge Bob v.2 page.

The commonest shape you are likely to make from a two-balloon weave is a rectangle. Instructions for the basic rectangular two balloon weave are explained below. By changing the length of the bubbles forming the breadth of the weave as you go you can produce different shaped 2 balloon weaves. By doing this you can make any shape that lies within these guidelines:
  • Is a flat object
  • Has a line of symmetry
  • Has no steep changes of breadth
Shown opposite are some of the shapes you can create using a flat weave. A rectangle, a watch, a wine glass silhouette and a guitar. The red line shows the line if symmetry. The balloons in the breadth of the weave are perpendicular to that line.

The weave can be turned from a flat weave into one with more depth by weaving it around a larger balloon for example a 350. This results in a woven shape that is akin to a slightly squashed cylinder.

Instructions for rectangular flat weave.
Step 1)
Start with 2 260's. Put a pinch twist in the end of each.( You can do the weave without the pinch twist using instead a normal bubble or just the nozzle of the balloon.)
Step 2)
Decide how wide you need your shape to be and twist a bubble that length in one of the balloons then twist the pinch twist in the other balloon to that point. Twist the other pinch twist to the corresponding point in it's opposite balloon.
Step 3)
Twist a small bubble in each balloon. Bring one of the balloons across and twist it to the top of the other bubble.
The other balloon needs to go across to the other side. Make sure you grab the other balloon not the one you have just twisted across. twist a bubble in it the same length as the other and push the whole balloon under that one. Pull it up and twist it in to the other side. You should end up with a pair of bubbles sitting neatly on top of the first pair.

One of the problems you may encounter while pulling the balloon through is that it untwists the other balloon. You can avoid this by either holding one balloon up while pulling the other through or by making sure the action of the balloon going under turns the other in the same direction it has already been twisted.
Continue on repeating steps 3 and 4 until you have a two balloon weave of your desired length. If it's not long enough tie new balloons in and continue.

If your weaving a non-rectangular shape the length of the bubbles need to be changed as you go.