

27 Crafts for Preschool: Activities for Preschool Children
Bonus: Get our newsletter & special offers for free. We will not share or sell your email address. View our Privacy Policy
Pipe Cleaner Pals


Turn an everyday craft material into a jungle of fun when you make Pipe Cleaner Pals. These easy kids' crafts can be completed in minutes, but the results will provide endless fun. You no longer have to buy toys at the store because now you can make animal crafts that are just as good. Pipe cleaner crafts are inexpensive ways to have a blast, and since they cost pennies, you can make an entire farm full of your favorite animals. Twist, cut, and twirl to transform something ordinary into something extraordinary.
This fabulous tutorial is an excerpt from Martha Stewart's Favorite Crafts for Kids.
For more great projects like this, subscribe to our free email newsletter!
To celebrate your love of creativity, we’ve collected all of your favorite kids crafts into this list, and we know you'll be impressed with the selection: 100 Craft Ideas for Kids: Art Project Ideas, Recycled Crafts for Kids, and More Fun Crafts
Estimated CostUnder $10
Time to CompleteUnder an hour
Primary TechniqueGeneral Crafts
Age GroupPreschool & Kindergarten, Elementary School
Materials List
- Pipe cleaners
- Marker
- Felt
- Scissors or nail clipper
- White craft glue
Instructions
-
To make a basic head: Make a loop in the middle of a pipe cleaner. The size and shape of the loop determine the size and shape of the head. Wrap head from neck to nose.
-
To make a basic body: Coil pipe cleaner around a marker (the thicker the marker, the fatter the animal) and slide off.
To Make a Chameleon
-
Make basic head and body shapes, leaving tail extra long for curling. Slide body into place. Slip legs between coils and twist to secure.
-
Cut out felt eyes; Glue on. Bend legs at knees and feet. Cut a skinny pipe cleaner for tongue.
-
Draw pupils on eyes with a permanent marker. Slide tongue into face; curl end.
To Make a Tiger
-
Make basic head and body shapes. Slide body into place. Slip back legs over tail; Twist to secure. Slip front legs behind first coil and twist.
-
Slide ears through top of head, and reshape. Bend tip of tail.
-
Cut eyes and nose from felt; Glue on. Trim fur on face and ears with scissors. Add stripes with marker.
To Make a Squirrel
-
Make basic head shape, leaving a shorter length on the end of the head piece for a hook. Hook a piece of fluffy pipe cleaner onto it. Make a short body.
-
Slide body into place. Shape ears. Slip through top of head. Cut felt eyes; Glue on. Place legs over front and back coils, and Twist to secure.
-
Curl tail.
To Make a Monkey
-
Make basic head shape, leaving face loop unwrapped. Bend tail up. Form a short body, and Slide into place. Slip long legs in front and back of the coils, and Twist to secure.
-
Twist ends of ears onto head. Curl tail. Cut a yellow piece for a banana.
-
Curl front paw around banana.
How are Pipe Cleaners made?
Have you ever stopped in the middle of a craft with pipe cleaners and wonder how exactly these handy little materials were made? It seems simple enough, but you may wonder where they came from. Pipe cleaners were initially, as the name suggests, used to clean smoking pipes. Their thin and bendable design made them the perfect tool for cleaning out small areas and tight spaces. Many musicians use pipe cleaners to clean between the keys or their instruments or their mouthpieces. However, the pipe cleaners can be used for other purposes aside from cleaning. Some use them as twist ties to seal food or as paintbrushes for detailed and delicate artwork. The pipe cleaners themselves are made from two pieces of twisted wire that trap fibers of various material in between. The pipe cleaners used for arts and crafts are usually made from polyester or nylon and made longer and thicker than the original smoking pipe cleaners. Lucky for the kids, they also come in lots of fun colors or in sparkly material for cuter crafts!
If you loved these adorable pipe cleaner crafts, be sure to check out our huge list of pipe cleaner crafts that we know your kids will love: Kids Craft Ideas: 37 Pipe Cleaner Crafts
Read NextHappy Hippo Bag Puppet
Free projects, giveaways, exclusive partner offers, and more straight to your inbox!
Tags / Related Topics
Your Recently Viewed Projects
Images from other crafters


Marilyn B
Aug 25, 2017
These are great little critters and they really do look like tiny cute animals. Any kid would love making these and it would really keep,them occupied because they would want them to turn out great! An option would be to,use googly eyes to,give them a more comic look, but I think I like them as they are! Great instructions, thanks so much for sharing!

nataliegrace
Feb 23, 2017
I love the chameleon! This is such a cute way to use pipe cleaners and I'm sure kids would love it.

rsdb
Jun 13, 2016
What cute and fuzzy critters! My kids will love making the animals using their favorite colors of pipe cleaners. I can see them hours of fun trying to make them and then playing with them. This would a great way to keep them busy and also tell them some interesting facts about the animals they make.
BetsyB993
Mar 11, 2016
Love, love, love, pipe cleaner animals! I have been known to put lengths of differently colored pipe cleaners in a ziplock bag, along with a pencil to wind pipe cleaners around for curls and springs. Our pipe cleaner kits keep kids busy for hours on the road, or at home, first creating and then playing with their creations.

vlrynn 3980883
Nov 15, 2014
These are adorable and were a huge hit with my kids!

Report Inappropriate Comment
Are you sure you would like to report this comment? It will be flagged for our moderators to take action.
Thank you for taking the time to improve the content on our site.
Project of the Day
Shaving Cream Marbled Paper
Let your kids channel their inner abstract artist with this fantastically fun Shaving Cream Marbled Paper craft. Your kids can create… Continue reading: "Shaving Cream Marbled Paper"

Something worth saving?
- SAVE your favorite projects
- ADD personal reminder notes
- QUICKLY reference your projects
Our Newest Projects & Articles
- Cute Kitten Coloring Pages For Kids And Adults
- Free Printable Happy Halloween Coloring Page
- Printable Fall Bookmarks
- Step-by-step Rising Water Experiment
- Fun Experiment: Dancing Raisins
- Fun Experiment: Dancing Grapes!
- Colorful Gobstopper Science Fun
- Dancing Pepper And Soap: Unveiling Water's Hidden Power!
- Create Your Own Ocean: Fun Jar Experiment!
- Make Rain Indoors: Fun Jar Experiment!
Free eBooks
- 13 DIY School Supplies: Back to School Ideas for Kids of All Ages
- 14 Crafts for Boys: Sports Crafts for Kids, Superhero Crafts, and More
- 14 Easy Summer Craft Activities for Kids
- 14 Mother's Day Craft Ideas for Kids: Homemade Mother's Day Gift Ideas
- 27 Crafts for Preschool: Activities for Preschool Children
- 9 Art Project Ideas: Painting Projects for Kids
- Animal Crafts: 17 Zoo Animal Crafts, Fish Crafts, Owl Crafts for Kids, and More
- Cheap and Easy Crafts for Kids: 9 Recycled Crafts
- Kids' Crafts for Easter: How to Decorate Easter Eggs, Easter Egg Hunt Projects, and more Easter Activities for Kids
- Spring Crafts for Kids: 17 Flower Crafts, Butterfly Crafts, and More