Giant bubbles, and how to make them

The Prisoner was a cult TV series that first aired in the UK in the 1960’s. Amongst it’s more surreal elements were giant balloons / bubbles called Rovers that prowled around enforcing the law and dealing out punishments, capital included.
Teenage me + The Prisoner was all it took – a seed was planted that slowly grew and eventually developed into an obsession: with giant bubbles….. and how to make them.
Over the years I’ve experimented with all types of soap and detergent bases, and all sorts of additives from glycerin to sugar to what can be delicately described as lubricants…. with not much success.
This all changed when internet research turned up guar gum powder, a plasticizer used in cake making and decorating, that American based bubble makers had been using for a number of years.
A few years then followed of experimenting with different guar gum based recipes, to resolve into the following which has, for me at least, yielded consistent results and is capable of producing bubbles that can easily dwarf a garden shed. I’m more than happy to share this with you all, and here it is.
Materials
- Guar gum powder (from Amazon)
- Cleaning alcohol (from hardware stores)
- Fairy liquid (the original green, unscented type only)
- Sodium Bicarbonate powder
- Water

TEquipment for the bubble wand
- 2 wooden dowel rods: my current rods are 120 cm each (1.5cm dia.), but you can make them any size you please.
- Natural cotton rope: attach a length of rope to form an equilateral triangle and affix to the dowels by screw eyes. My current setup uses 360cm of rope (i.e. 120cm x 120cm x120cm) but I would urge you to experiment and see what works best for you.
Recipe
- Weigh 4 gms of Guar gum powder into a plastic mixing bowl that can hold at least 2.5 litres
- Cover with just enough cleaning alcohol to disperse the guar gum powder by stirring. NOTE: this step is necessary because guar gum powder does not disperse properly in water
- Slowly add 125 gm of Fairy liquid and gently stir in.
- Slowly add 2 litres of cold water and gently stir in, Try to avoid producing too many bubbles on the surface whilst doing so.
- Gently add 4 gm of sodium bicarbonate powder and stir: the theory is that it helps with dispersal of the soap liquid. NOTE don’t be put off if the powder does not dissolve immediately – it can take a few minutes sometimes.
- Let the mixture rest for a couple of hours or so to let the elements become happy with each other – and then you are good to go.
Method
- Fully immerse the rope on the dowel into the liquid.
- Withdraw and present to the sky, with a breeze coming from behind, whilst gently drawing the rope ends of the rod apart to form the triangle.
- As the giant bubble forms, gently bring the rope ends of the rods together to close and free the bubble
Here are a few shots of my grandson showing how it is done.
Good luck, and Happy Bubbling!

