Pipe cleaners are a staple of every kids' craft cupboard and school art supplies box. And for good reason – they're versatile, inexpensive and ideal for imaginative crafts. In this easy tutorial we'll show you how to turn them into pipe cleaner animals.
Follow our step-by-step instructions to see your animal come to life with just a few simple twists (and some googly eyes!). Once you've learned the basics of making pipe cleaner animals you'll be able to design your own. It's a great rainy day craft for the kids, and a relaxing mini-make for the grown ups.
Read on to start creating your menagerie…
How to make pipe cleaner animals
Making pipe cleaner animals is easy when you know how. There are a few different techniques that you'll need to master, but with a bit of practice you'll be bending and shaping your own creature creations in no time.
We've got three animal models below to help you hone your skills. They're arranged in order of difficulty, from the simple snake to the tricky(ish) turtle.
First you'll learn how to twist pipe cleaners together to create barber pole stripes. These are great for making multi-coloured creatures, and for creating thicker strands when you need them.
Next, you'll try wrapping pipe cleaners around an object (in this case your fingers or a pencil) to create a smooth curve. You can use all sorts of objects to help make the shapes you need – the edge of a table for a right angle, a glue stick for a circle, and so on. Be inventive and use the things around you!
Finally, we'll show you how to work with multiple pipe cleaner pieces to make limbs and other appendages. No glue required! This bit is crucial for modelling four-legged friends such as our turtle.
Are you ready to begin? Skip to the tutorial you want below…
Make a pipe cleaner snake
If you're new to making pipe cleaner animals, this sss-imple snake is a great place to start! All it takes is three colours twisted together, and a few little details for the face.
You will need
1 blue pipe cleaner
1 green pipe cleaner
1 yellow pipe cleaner
Googly eyes
Glue
Paper
Scissors
Red felt tip pen
Step 1
Line up your three pipe cleaners and twist them together to create one multicoloured strand.
Step 2
Coil one end of the cord around your finger to make a spiral, and bend the other end so that it points upwards.
Step 3
Fold over the straight end of the pipe cleaner by about 5cm then fold this section in half. This will form the snake’s face.
Step 4
Stick two googly eyes to the face using glue. Colour a small piece of plain paper red, cut out a tongue shape and attach it underneath the face below the eyes.
Inspire their imaginations
Keep the little ones entertained at home with our round-up of 50+ fun arts and crafts for kids.
Model a pipe cleaner octopus
Level up your pipe cleaner animal making with this super-cute cephalopod. Master folding and cutting to make different sized pieces, and using a pencil (or other wrappable object) to create curves.
You will need
4 orange pipe cleaners
Scissors
Pencil
Googly eyes
Glue
Step 1
Bend the first pipe cleaner in half then cut it with the scissors to make two equal pieces. If needed, fold the metal over where you have cut it so there isn’t a sharp point. Fold the two pieces in half again.
Step 2
Repeat with the second pipe cleaner to create four folded pieces in total for the legs.
Step 3
Holding all the pipe cleaner pieces together in the middle, wrap another pipe cleaner tightly around the top half of the pieces, to hold them all together.
Step 4
Repeat with another pipe cleaner, wrapping a little more loosely this time to form the body of the octopus.
Step 5
Shape the tentacles by wrapping each of the eight pipe cleaners around a pencil so that they curl upwards.
Step 6
Use glue to stick two googly eyes onto the body to create the face.
Stick figures
Don't throw your lolly sticks away! Use them to make cute and creative popsicle stick crafts such as these fun ballerinas.
Make a pipe cleaner turtle
This little guy is turtle-y adorable! Our final model requires a few more pieces, and the most challenging bit is attaching them all together at the end. But the joy of working with pipe cleaners is that you can always untwist them and start again…
You will need
1 brown pipe cleaner
3 yellow pipe cleaners
2 green pipe cleaners
Scissors
Googly eyes
Glue
Step 1
Twist together a brown and a yellow pipe cleaner.
Step 2
Starting at one end, coil the strand into a spiral shape, tucking the end under to keep it in place. Gently push the middle upwards to make a dome shape for the shell.
Step 3
Repeat steps 1 and 2 with two yellow pipe cleaners to create the turtle’s belly.
Step 4
Cut a green pipe cleaner in half, and then cut one of those halves into four equal pieces for the legs.
Step 5
Attach four legs to the turtle’s belly by inserting each one into the outer ring of the spiral, folding it in half and twisting the two halves together. Space them equally around the edge.
Step 6
Fold the remaining half pipe cleaner into four, and cut off one quarter to make the tail piece.
Place the shell on top of the belly, domed sides outwards. Attach the two together with the green pipe cleaner.
Step 7
Fold a green pipe cleaner in half, then in half again. With the folded ends at the top, push it through the outer ring of the shell and belly pieces opposite the tail.
Fold the bottom end up to cover the shell.
Step 8
To make the head, roll the top of the green pipe cleaner down to make a triangle shape.
Attach a googly eye on each side using glue.
Learn how to make pipe cleaner animals
Now you've mastered the basic techniques of modelling with pipe cleaners you'll be able to make pretty much any pipe cleaner animal you want – the only limit is your imagination!
Little kids will love copying your creations, while older ones will enjoy the challenge of coming up with their own designs.
All you need for hours of model making fun is scissors, glue, and a plentiful supply of pipe cleaners and googly eyes…
Explore pipe cleaner crafts with Gathered
Head over to our easy pipe cleaner crafts for more creative ideas with pipe cleaners, including gift wrap, bubble wands and even a noughts and crosses game.
