Bring a little sunshine indoors with these cheerful pipe cleaner sunflowers! With soft fuzzy petals, a spiral center, and leafy green details, this bright bloom is the perfect way to celebrate summer — no watering required.
This pipe cleaner craft is a fun way to practice fine motor skills, and the finished flower makes adorable DIY decor for a bedroom or windowsill. Whether you make just one or a whole bouquet, these sunflowers are sure to bring a touch of sunny happiness to your space.
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How to Make Pipe Cleaner Sunflowers
Materials:
Equipment:
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make the petals
- Fold a yellow pipe cleaner in half.
- Twist the pipe cleaner together two times, about 1/3 of the way from the fold.
- Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner down towards the fold and open up the folded end.
- Slide one end through the gap and pull it taut.
- Then gather the ends together and twist them twice.
- Bend the ends up towards the fold and twist them together around the rest. This gives you the first petal.
- Repeat 23 times, giving you 24 petals total.
Step 3: Make the center
- Connect 3 brown pipe cleaners together to create 1 long pipe cleaner.
- Leaving a 3/4 inch tail, wrap the brown pipe cleaner around a wooden skewer or another long, thin object.Don’t overlap the wraps.
- Slide the brown pipe cleaner off the skewer and gently stretch it apart so it looks like a zigzag pattern.
- Starting on one end, begin wrapping the pipe cleaner around itself. Don’t pull too hard – you want to keep the zigzags.
- Continue until you’ve created the center of the sunflower. Secure the end by tucking it into and under one of the wraps. (You can also glue it in place.)
Step 4: Make the sepal (the green part under the flower head)
- Next twist 3 green pipe cleaners together (just like with the brown).
- Leave a 1 inch tail and then fold the pipe cleaner in a zigzag pattern, with each length being about 1 inch.
Step 5: Make the leaves
- Create a large loop with a green pipe cleaner, folding 1 end over the other and then wrapping it around.
- Bend the loop into a leaf shape, creating a point at the top and rounding the bottoms, like an upside-down heart.
- Wrap a second green pipe cleaner around the base of the leaf stem and bring it up vertically across the center of the leaf. Wrap it around the top to secure it in place.
- Now begin wrapping the pipe cleaner around the edges. Start with the pipe cleaner under the center frame and over the outer frame at the right.Then fold it up in the opposite direction, around the outer frame on the left.
- Bring the pipe cleaner back over the center frame and around it, before going over to the outside right.
- Fold around the right edge and back to the center frame, going over and around.
- Repeat this wrap pattern until you near the end of the pipe cleaner. Connect another green pipe cleaner by twisting the ends together.
- Continue, alternating the wraps around the outside frame, adding more pipe cleaners as needed.Tuck the tail in well when you reach the base of the leaf (or secure it by gluing it). Then repeat, making a second leaf, and bend them into shape.
Step 6: Assemble the pieces
- Add a line of hot glue to the back center of the flower.
- Set 2 petals into the glue on opposite sides of the center, with the rounded part facing out, and hold them until they stay in place on their own.
- Then add 2 more petals so you have 4 facing out in a cross shape.
- Add glue between 2 of the petals and place 2 more petals between them.Repeat until the base of the flower is full.
- Make a second layer of petals, gluing each one between 2 petals from the first layer.
- Cut a 12 inch piece of thick garden or floral wire and bend the end into a small loop using pliers. Bend this loop down so it’s perpendicular to the stem.
- Glue the wire loop to the bottom of the sunflower.
- Then glue the green “zigzag” to the bottom of the flower, creating the sepal. Bring the the points of the zigzag in on one side, with the opposite fold towards the outside of the flower. Space them out nicely.Wrap the tail of the sepal tightly around the wire stem.
- Wrap green floral tape around the stem, starting from the base of the flower. Connect the leaves to the stem with the tape as you make your way down.You can also glue the leaves to the stem first before wrapping the tape around.
- Finally, bend the petals forward at the center of the flower, curving the edges of the petals back. Continue, shaping the sunflower how you’d like.
- Your pipe cleaner sunflower is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Work in batches: Twist up a bunch of petals at once to speed up the assembly process. Do the same with the leaves. Once you get on a roll with one of the parts, you’ll be able to create more of them quickly!
- Use the low-temperature setting on your glue gun: A low temp or dual temp glue gun is recommended for this flower craft, since it’s likely you’ll get some hot glue on your fingers as you press the petals and sepal into the glue.
How many pipe cleaners do I need to make one pipe cleaner sunflower?
To make one pipe cleaner sunflower craft, you’ll need:
- about 24 yellow pipe cleaners
- 12 to 13 green pipe cleaners (depending on how tightly you wrap your leaves)
Or you can buy pipe cleaner kits specifically for making sunflowers!
What kind of wire should I use for the stem?
We used garden wire from our local craft store. The pipe cleaner flower is quite heavy, so whatever type of wire you use, we recommend it be fairly thick.
If ordering wire online, remember that the higher the gauge number, the thinner the wire, and the lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire.
How do I make sure the pipe cleaner flower bouquet stands upright?
We were able to put all of our DIY pipe cleaner flowers into a glass vase with a square bottom and have it stand up without weights. But if your pipe cleaner flower is too top-heavy, first make sure your vase is tall enough to support the length of the stem.
Alternatively, trim (or bend) the stem shorter. And if the vase still tips, add something inside to weigh it down, like glass beads or decorative pebbles. Floral foam can also help hold the flowers upright.
These pipe cleaner sunflowers are a ray of crafty sunshine! With a mix of twisting, shaping, and gluing, you’ll have a beautiful handmade bloom in no time at all.
We love how simple supplies can make something so bright and beautiful — no green thumb required! These DIY flowers are perfect for decorating your home, gifting to a friend, or simply adding a splash of summer cheer to your desk.
Here’s even more DIY flower craft ideas:
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Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
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