How to Make Pipe Cleaner Figurines

Considering how abundant they are in homemade Christmas ornaments, and school art projects, the pipe cleaner is rarely used for its intended function. Pipe cleaner figurines are another in a long line of misuses for the tool, but they're fun to make for kids and adults and the final product can be very impressive.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A bag of pipe cleaners

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.
2. Place one folded pipe cleaner between the legs of the other until it sits directly at the bend.
3. To adjoin them, tuck the legs of the outside pipe cleaner through the loop created by the inside pipe cleaner.
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.
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.
6. Fold the bend of the other pipe cleaner over the twisted legs to secure them in place.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the other side and twist the middle tightly to complete the Blum Base.
8. To create longer legs and arms, bend another pipe cleaner and straddle it over the shoulders and hips of the Blum Base.
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.
10. Repeat the extension for the other side and bend out shoulders, knees and ankles until the final product resembles a headless body.
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.
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.
13. Fold the rest of the pipe cleaner over the diameter of the loop and tuck it through the bottom of the hole.
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.
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.
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.
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.
18. Adjoin the hands to the arms the same way as the feet in step 15.
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.
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.
21. Clump and fold the bases of each bend together by threading the excess wire through each, and then wrap it around the bottom.
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.
23. Facial characteristics are tricky, but as you wrap make sharp bends in the wire for the nose and chin.
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.
25. Slip the short length of pipe cleaner under the vertically turned wire, and fold the short pipe cleaner in on itself.
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.
27. Cut the loops in the hair and twist them into whatever hairdo you prefer.
28. Attach neck to the body by twisting it around the torso
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.
30. Strengthen the legs and arms by adding additional pipe cleaners to each, but always starting from the torso.

Tips & Warnings

• When strengthening the limbs, first wrap additional pipe cleaners loosely around each limb, then tighten as more layers are added. This will help keep each limp solid and capable of holding a position.
• Pipe cleaners come in a wide variety of colors, so choose wisely what colors you want your figurine to be.
• Using the Blum Base a number of other animal and monster figurines can be created. People are not the only option.
• The ends of pipe cleaners can be sharp, be careful while wrapping the pipe cleaners that no exposed edges hang off the figurine.