How To Make Easy Pipe Cleaner Flowers: Simple DIY Sunflowers

Instructions

STEP 1: GET MY FREE PIPE CLEANER FLOWERS REFERENCE GUIDE

First, download my Pipe Cleaner Flowers files from my free library – look for Design #799. Alternatively, you can use the Save This Project form near the top of this post and the design link will be emailed to you.
In the folder, you’ll find a PDF reference guide with the steps to make my pipe cleaner sunflower. At its original size (100%), the printed guide will make an approximately 7"W x 13"H x 6"D sunflower. You can also print the guide at 75% to make a smaller version approximately 5.5"W x 11"H x 5"D.
TIP: If you’re not sure how to unzip files, go to jennifermaker.com/svgs to learn how.

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR GUIDE AND SUPPLIES

1. Download and open the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from jennifermaker.com/acrobat.
2. In the top menu, click “File” and “Open.”
3. Find the “guide” PDF and open it.
4. Click “File” and select “Print.”
5. Your screen might look different, but select your printer in the drop-down menu.
6. Select color or black and white printing depending on your preference.
7. Under “Size,” select “Actual Size” to print the guide for a large flower.
   
   NOTE: If you want to make a smaller flower, you can select “Custom Scale” and set a percentage. I used “75%” to make a smaller flower.
   
   
8. Load 8.5” x 11” paper in your printer.
9. Click “Print.”
10. Place the printed guide on your work surface.
    NOTE: I’ll shape some of the pipe cleaners on the reference guide to make sure the bends are in the right spots.
11. Gather your supplies and make sure you have enough pipe cleaners for the flower or flowers you plan to make.
    NOTE: To make one flower, you will need 12" pipe cleaners in these colors and quantities:
    - 16 yellow for the petals (1 for each petal)
    - 2 brown for the center
    - 7 green for the stem and leaf (2 for the leafy parts under the petals, 3 for a single leaf, and 2 for the stem)
    - 1 thick floral wire stem to wrap 2 green pipe cleaners around
    

STEP 3: MAKE YOUR FLOWER PIECES

LARGE SUNFLOWER PETALS

1. Match the ends of a 12” yellow pipe cleaner to fold it in half and find the center.
2. Use your scissors to cut the pipe cleaner at the center, creating two 6” pieces.
   
   NOTE: If you’re making a smaller sunflower using the reference guide printed at 75% size, cut a single pipe cleaner into two pieces that match the lengths shown on your reference guide.
3. Match each 6” piece’s ends to fold them in half, so both have a bend and two legs.
   
   
4. Insert the leg of one piece into the bend of the other so they are linked.
   
   
5. Close to the joint, twist the legs of both sides in opposite directions once to secure them together.
   
   
6. Hold the legs of one end and compare your pieces to the reference guide, making sure the shape looks like a skinny “X.”
   
   
7. Keep the lower legs you’re holding still, and fold the upper legs down to either side.
   NOTE: The outer legs should be slightly shorter than the inner ones, and the pieces should be flat with the bend at the top.
   
   
8. Keep the four legs flat while smoothing them straight down so they stay aligned in four straight columns.
9. Fold the outer legs at 90° angles so they cross the middle legs about 0.5” from their ends.
   NOTE: It’s OK if they don’t cross right at 0.5” -- that measurement is more of a guide.
   
   
10. Use the shorter folded section to wrap just around the two middle legs from the front to the back.
    NOTE: If both sections are the same length, you can wrap either one first.
    
    
11. Use the remaining folded section to wrap around the two middle legs at the same spot from the back to the front.
    
    
12. Repeat Steps 1-11 15 times to create 16 matching petals.
    TIP: Real petals are never identical, so don’t worry if they’re not all perfect!
13. Optionally, you can shape the petals by gently pulling the outer edges out and pinching the ends to make sure the fibers still touch.
    
    
14. If you notice gaps between the fibers and want to fluff them up a bit, gently heat press each petal on a heat-safe pressing pad.
    NOTE: On a Cricut EasyPress, set the temperature to 300°F (149°C) and press each petal for 30 seconds with medium pressure.
    NOTE: With a home iron, set it to “Polyester” or "Medium Heat" and press for 30 seconds with medium pressure.
    

LARGE SUNFLOWER CENTER

1. Turn on your hot glue gun and put on your silicone finger protectors.
2. Match the ends of two 12” brown pipe cleaners, then twist them together tightly along their full lengths.
   
   
3. Starting at one end of the twisted pipe cleaners, coil them into a flat spiral.
   TIP: Avoid gaps in the center by holding the spiral’s rings together while you coil the pipe cleaners.
   
   
4. Keeping the spiral secure, fold the outer pipe cleaner’s end in toward the middle so it will touch each ring.
   
   
5. Lift the folded section up and add hot glue to its underside.
   
   
6. Use your protected fingers to press the folded twist in toward the middle and hold it in place until the glue completely dries.
7. Place the flower’s center face down so the glue is on top.
   NOTE: You can place the center on the reference sheet to help protect your work surface from hot glue, but some of the paper might stick to the flower.
8. Grab a finished petal and pick the prettier side to be the front.
   TIP: For example, some of my petals were bumpy or had wire ends showing on one side, so I made those the backs.
9. Add hot glue to the petal’s front from the wrapped section to the ends of the legs.
   
   
10. Place the glued section onto the back of the flower center so the shaped petal sticks out.
    TIP: Use your protected fingers to hold the petal in place until the glue completely dries.
    
    
11. To make the flower symmetrical, add the next petal opposite the first using Steps 8-10.
    NOTE: The petals’ legs may or may not touch each other, depending on their shape, size, and the center’s size.
    TIP: You can use your reference guide to help symmetrically place the first eight petals as the first layer. If you think of the reference image as a compass, add petals at the four cardinal directions and then the four intermediate directions.
12. Continue adding the first eight petals the same way for the first layer.
    
    
13. Fill in the open sections with the remaining eight petals, which will slightly overlap with the first set of petals at their edges.
    
    
14. To shape the flower, hold it face up and gently lift the first eight petals you glued, which will be slightly above the others.
    NOTE: You can fine-tune the shaping once everything is complete -- I just found that making the basic petal adjustments is easier before the stem is attached to the flower.
    
    
15. One at a time, gently curve the petals around your fingers so they arch up from the center and down at the tips.
    
    
16. Once the top layer of petals is shaped, curve the lower layer of petals the same way but with a less dramatic arch so the flower looks even from the top and sides.
    

LARGE SUNFLOWER STEM

1. Fold a 12” green pipe cleaner about 1.5” down from one end.
   NOTE: If you’re making a smaller sunflower using the reference guide printed at 75% size, you will fold the pipe cleaner where noted on the printed diagram (it will be less than 1.5”).
   
   
2. Leave about 1” of straight length from the first fold, then fold the pipe cleaner back on itself in the opposite direction to make an accordion shape.
   NOTE: Use the reference guide for the correct place to fold if making a smaller sunflower.
   
   
3. Holding the short folded end pointing down, continue the 1” accordion folds until you have four "leaves" with their points going up.
   NOTE: The beginning of the accordion should be a bit longer than the rest of it.
   TIP: If your shape doesn’t match the one on the reference guide, try flipping it to see a different orientation.
   
   
4. Gently pinch the points at the tops and bottoms to make them sharper if needed.
5. Bring the short end perpendicular across the long pipe cleaner length, to create an enclosed shape with four pointed leaves that are all the same length.
   
   
6. Without mishaping any of the points, wrap the short end around the long section to secure the stem’s top into an enclosed loop.
7. Gently fan out the four short leaves evenly, so they look like the reference image on your printed guide.
   
   
8. To secure the leaves, bring the pipe cleaner’s long end up and between the middle leaves, then make a tight fold to bring it straight back down.
   
   
9. Gently shape the leaves to look more like leaves by slightly pulling apart their edges near the joints.
   
   NOTE: If you’re making a smaller sunflower, trim off the excess length at the bottom of the stem so it matches your printed guide.
   
10. Repeat Steps 1-9 to make an identical second stem section.
11. Stack the stem sections one on top of the other so their joints are at the same spot.
    
    
12. Hold the sections at the joint and tightly twist the loose stems together along their full lengths.
    
    
13. Fold the two halves of the stem top down to make an even, mostly flat surface with eight leaves.
    
    
14. Place your assembled sunflower center and petals face down and check how the stem will sit on its center. You can make adjustments to the shaping as needed.
15. Make sure your hot glue gun is on and put your finger protectors back on.
16. Hold the stem face up by the twisted end and add hot glue to the tops of the leaves and the joint in the center.
    
    
17. Flip the stem over and center it on the sunflower’s back.
18. Press the glued leaves in place and hold them down until the glue dries completely.
    NOTE: Pressing on the sunflower may squish the petals, but we can fluff them up once we’re done.
    

LARGE SUNFLOWER LEAF

1. Match the ends on a 12” green pipe cleaner to find the middle and fold it in half.
   NOTE: If you’re making a smaller sunflower using the reference guide printed at 75% size, fold a single pipe cleaner so its legs match the lengths shown on your reference guide, then cut off any excess.
2. Repeat to fold two more green pipe cleaners in half so they each have a bend and two legs.
3. Insert the leg of one piece into the bend of the other two so they are linked.
   NOTE: Hold the pieces with the single section as the top of the “X” as shown in the reference guide.
   
   
4. Close to the joint, twist the top section once to secure the pieces together.
   
   
5. Hold the bottom double sections still, then fold the upper legs down to either side of them.
   NOTE: The outer legs should be slightly shorter than the inner ones, and the pieces should be flat with the bend at the top.
   
   
6. Keep the legs flat while smoothing them straight down so they stay aligned in six straight columns.
7. Fold the outer legs at 90° angles so they cross the middle legs about 1.5” from their ends.
   NOTE: If you’re making a smaller sunflower, fold the legs at the area shown on your printed reference guide.
   
   
8. Use the shorter folded section to wrap just around the middle legs from the front to the back.
   NOTE: If both sections are the same length, you can wrap either one first.
   
   
9. Use the remaining folded section to wrap around the middle legs at the same spot from the back to the front.
10. Shape the leaf by pinching the top joint and gently pulling the outer edges apart. Fluff the fibers so you can’t see through the leaf.
    
    
11. Find the longest of the four central lengths at the bottom of the leaf and trim the other three right below the wraps.
    
    
12. If you notice gaps between the fibers and want to fluff them up a bit, gently heat press each leaf on a heat-safe pressing pad.
    NOTE: On a Cricut EasyPress, set the temperature to 300°F (149°C) and press for 30 seconds with medium pressure.
    NOTE: With a home iron, set it to “Polyester” or "Medium Heat" and press for 30 seconds with medium pressure.

STEP 4: ASSEMBLE THE FLOWER

1. Press one end of the floral wire into the bottom of the flower right next to the twisted pipe cleaners.
   NOTE: You should feel the wire hit the flower center, but don’t push it all the way through, or it could be visible on the top of your flower.
   
   
2. Hold the wire in place and wrap the twisted stem pipe cleaners around it.
   NOTE: The wrap should be tight, but you can have small spaces between the twists for now.
   
   
3. Wrap a full-length green pipe cleaner around the stem so it starts where the floral wire is visible and continues down the existing twisted section to completely cover the wire.
   TIP: If you have trouble getting your wraps close together, gently push the coil up along the stem to compress it.
   
   
4. Continue wrapping the stem until you reach the spot where you want to add a leaf.
   NOTE: I wrapped about 4” before adding a leaf to the large sunflower. For the smaller sunflower, I added the leaf at about 3”.
5. With the leaf’s prettier side facing up, align its joint with the lowest covered stem section so the leaf’s short, loose length is along the bare wire.
   
   
6. Holding the leaf in place, continue wrapping the long pipe cleaner around the leaf’s short section and the wire stem until you get close to the end of the pipe cleaner.
   
   
7. When you have a few inches of the wrapping pipe cleaner left, you can add a new one by overlapping their ends by about 0.5” to make an “X.” Then wrap the short crossed pieces around the long ones in opposite directions.
   
   
8. Continue wrapping the stem until you either want to add another leaf (follow Steps 4-6) or the stem is the length you want.
   NOTE: I made my stem 10” long for the large flower and 8” long for the small flower.
9. When the stem is the right length, trim the excess pipe cleaner with your scissors.
10. Hold the stem and excess wire in your non-dominant hand, then use wire cutters to trim off the excess wire.
    
    TIP: Holding both pieces will keep the excess wire from flying away when it’s cut.
    NOTE: The thick wire can damage scissors, so be sure to use the wire cutters.
    

STEP 5: SHOW IT OFF

You now have a beautiful pipe cleaner sunflower ready for display in a vase or other container!