How to Make Pipe Cleaner Figurines

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A bag of pipe cleaners

Step 1

At the center of every pipe cleaner figurine, is the Blum Base, which acts as the skeleton. To build a Blum Base, start with two pipe cleaners, and fold each of them in half. They should now look like two pairs of legs.
Step 2

Place one folded pipe cleaner between the legs of the other until it sits directly at the bend.
Step 3

To adjoin them, tuck the legs of the outside pipe cleaner through the loop created by the inside pipe cleaner.
Step 4

Pull gently on the legs of each to extend the body of the figurine, or push them together if you want it to be shorter. The length between the bends will be the size of the torso.
Step 5

Once you have the right body size, pinch the legs of one pipe cleaner where they meet the bend of the other, then twist the legs around each other once.
Step 6

Fold the bend of the other pipe cleaner over the twisted legs to secure them in place.
Step 7

Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the other side and twist the middle tightly to complete the Blum Base.
Step 8

To create longer legs and arms, bend another pipe cleaner and straddle it over the shoulders and hips of the Blum Base.
Step 9

Wrap the legs around the extension to secure it. Don't wrap the extension around the legs because it will compromise the length of the limbs.
Step 10

Repeat the extension for the other side and bend out shoulders, knees and ankles until the final product resembles a headless body.
Step 11

To make the feet, a Blum Adjoiner must first be created. Twist the last inch of two new pipe cleaners around each other. The final product should now look like a longer pipe cleaner.
Step 12

Loop the end of one side of the elongated pipe cleaner over itself. The loop should be roughly the size of the foot you want to create.
Step 13

Fold the rest of the pipe cleaner over the diameter of the loop and tuck it through the bottom of the hole.
Step 14

Pull the excess wire through the hole and begin wrapping it around the loop to create a three dimensional foot. The portion of the pipe cleaner that was folded over the top, acts as the top of the foot so don't wrap too tightly or you will flatten it out.
Step 15

To attach the feet to the body, wrap the excess pipe cleaner that covered the foot around the leg while simultaneously wrapping the last half inch of the leg around the heel of the foot.
Step 16

To create a hand, bend a new pipe cleaner at seven places through the middle until it looks like two connected letter "M"s.
Step 17

Twist the outsides of the "M"s together to create a hand. Then twist each loop on itself to create the fingers and thumb. Position them in any way you like.
Step 18

Adjoin the hands to the arms the same way as the feet in step 15.
Step 19

To flesh out the palms, thread an additional pipe cleaner through the fingers of each hand and wrap it around the middle to separate the fingers from the thumb.
Step 20

To create a head with hair, being with the hair by first combining two or more pipe cleaners using the Blum Adjoiner from step 11, then make several bends in the elongated pipe cleaner while leaving some excess wire on one side.
Step 21

Clump and fold the bases of each bend together by threading the excess wire through each, and then wrap it around the bottom.
Step 22

For the face, wrap a separate pipe cleaner around the base of the hair until the bottom of the head starts to form. You may need to adjoin two or more pipe cleaners to get the right size head.
Step 23

Facial characteristics are tricky, but as you wrap make sharp bends in the wire for the nose and chin.
Step 24

To add eyes, cut off an inch of a different colored pipe cleaner, then pinch the wire in the face where you'd like to place the eyes, and twist it vertically.
Step 25

Slip the short length of pipe cleaner under the vertically turned wire, and fold the short pipe cleaner in on itself.
Step 26

The mouth can be created the same way, except the short pipe cleaner should be folded over the vertical wire of the face to hide it.
Step 27

Cut the loops in the hair and twist them into whatever hairdo you prefer.
Step 28

Attach neck to the body by twisting it around the torso
Step 29

Add pipe cleaners around the middle to flesh out the chest and shoulders of the figurine by wrapping them around the neck, under the armpits and across the body.
Step 30

Strengthen the legs and arms by adding additional pipe cleaners to each, but always starting from the torso.

Comments

UnStarvedArtist said

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on 9/4/2009 Great pics and details...I want to do this with my niece

on 7/4/2009 This is SO awesome! I made one last night, and my 4 year old couldn't have been happier if I'd spent 75 dollars on a toy at Target! Thanks guy! So glad to make a craft w/ my kid that is actually sturdy enough for him (and his 18 mo old brother) to play with for a while. haha.