Pipe Cleaner Flower Headband
Spring has sprung, and what better way to celebrate than with this bright and cheery pipe cleaner flower headband! With soft, fluffy petals and pops of colour, this handmade headband looks like a little bouquet you can wear. It’s a sweet and simple craft that’s perfect for playdates, birthday parties, or just a breezy afternoon of creative fun.
The best part? You probably already have everything you need in your craft stash! Whether you’re whipping one up for your little flower child or making a whole garden’s worth for a group, these DIY pipe cleaner headbands come together quickly and they’re irresistibly cute!
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How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Flower Headband
This adorable pipe cleaner flower headband is a fun and beginner-friendly craft for both kids and adults. The end result is the sweetest little accessory to brighten up any outfit!
Author:
Debbie Chapman
Materials:
- Pipe cleaners (green, flower colour, and yellow)
- Thin headband
Equipment:
- Glue gun
- Pen
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Needle nose pliers
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Looking for more DIY accessories? Here’s a few of our favourites:
How to Make a Scrunchie
4 Strand Pipe Cleaner Bracelets
How to Make Pipe Cleaner Flower Rings
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Cover the headband
- Gather about 15 green pipe cleaners. The exact number needed will vary based on the width of your headband.Our headbands are 3/8 inch wide and required 13 pipe cleaners to cover it.
- Add a dot of hot glue to the bottom outside of your headband.
- Place the end of a green pipe cleaner in the glue and begin wrapping it around the headband. You can add another dot of glue partway through the pipe cleaner to keep it in place.
- Continue until the whole pipe cleaner is wrapped, securing the end with another bit of glue. Hold the pipe cleaner until it stays on its own.
- Repeat, adding more pipe cleaners around the headband until you reach the other end. Make sure your wraps are tight and each pipe cleaner is flush against the previous one. If the headband is fully covered partway through a pipe cleaner, cut the excess pipe cleaner and secure the cut end to the headband with a dot of hot glue.
Step 3: Make the flower petals
- To make a pipe cleaner flower, begin by holding a pen, marker, or pencil horizontally in front of you.Place a pipe cleaner behind the pen, with 1 inch below it and the rest pointing up above it.
- Hold the pipe cleaner in place with one hand and use the other to wrap the pipe cleaner towards you, around the pen. Repeat 6 times in total.(You should still have 2 ends that aren’t part of the coil. The one at the top will be a bit longer.)
- Carefully remove the coil from the pen, keeping the loops together.
- Squish the loops together and ensure that one end is pointing up and one is pointing down.
- Bring the longer end of the pipe cleaner down through the center of the coil. Pull it down so it’s parallel to the other end. Twist these ends together a few times, right next to the coil.
- Cut off the excess pipe cleaner ends as close to the coil as possible (without losing your twists).
- Fan out the loops of the coil (there should be 5 of them), creating a flower shape. Gently pinch the end of each loop, creating a slight point.
- Then twist each loop so it’s parallel to your working surface. You should now have 5 petals!
Step 4: Create the flower center
- For the center of the flower, cut a yellow or orange pipe cleaner section 2 inches long.
- Hold the end of the pipe cleaner with needle nose pliers and twist the pipe cleaner around itself.
- Add a dot of glue to the center of the flower and place the flower center into it.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 to make enough flowers to cover most of your headband. (We made 13 flowers total.)
Step 5: Attach the flowers to the headband
- Add a dot of glue to the back center of one of the flowers.
- Attach the flower to the outside of the headband, about 1-1/2 inches above the bottom.This will ensure the headband is comfortable to wear, and the flower won’t poke into your ear.
- Place a second flower right above the first so they’re lightly touching. Align the flower so both are facing in the same direction.
- Repeat, adding the rest of the flowers to the headband, and stopping when you’re 1-1/2 inches above the other end.
- Your pipe cleaner flower headband is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- If you’re crafting with kids, try using a low temperature glue gun. It’s a gentler option that’s better suited for little hands, so kids can help craft without as much risk of burns.
- Since pipe cleaners come in so many different colour options, you can choose coordinating or rainbow pipe cleaners to match your outfit or party theme!
What kind of headband works best for this flower headband DIY?
We recommend using a plain plastic or metal headband that’s around 3/8 inch wide for this pipe cleaner flower craft so the flowers are the main focus. You can definitely use a wider headband, but thin headbands are easier to wrap with pipe cleaners. You can find multipacks of basic headbands on Amazon.
What pipe cleaners are best for making this flower pipe cleaner craft?
Almost any kind of pipe cleaner will do. Whether you call them fuzzy sticks or chenille stems, there are so many varieties of pipe cleaners available to personalize your flower headband.
Choosing the right colours is key to making your headband stand out. You can make flowers of all one colour, like we did, or create your own rainbow bouquet! You can also add jeweled centers or other embellishments.
Try bright colours for a vibrant vibe, pastel colours for a softer look, gradients for a multihued masterpiece, or sparkly pipe cleaners for some extra dazzle! (But keep in mind that metallic pipe cleaners are scratchy, so be really careful that they don’t touch your ears!)
Do I need a hot glue gun to make my pipe cleaner headband?
Hot glue works best for a quick hold when making these flower headbands, but tacky glue or craft glue can work if you allow time for drying.
Just make sure to clamp or hold pieces in place for a few minutes. Or you can also try using glue dots for a no-mess option.
These pipe cleaner flower headbands are such a fun spring craft! They’re bright, fuzzy, and full of personality, perfect for dress-up days, birthday parties, or just a little everyday magic.
Whether you’re crafting with kids or whipping up a few for a garden party, these sweet headbands are sure to be a hit. Let your creativity bloom and make one in every colour of the rainbow!
Here’s even more DIY headband craft ideas:
DIY Rhinestone Headband
How to Make Fabric Headbands
Crazy Headbands
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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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