Here’s a fun monkey craft for kids of all ages! Grab some pipe cleaners and some wooden beads and transform them into a cute posable monkey. The monkey can even hang onto a pencil!
I don’t know what it is about monkeys, but I have always loved them and the kids do too!
Here’s what you need to make a pipe cleaner monkey:
- Brown pipe cleaners – 3 per monkey
- Wooden beads
- Googly eyes
- Hot glue
- Brown felt
- Brown and tan acrylic paint
- Yellow pipe cleaners – for bananas
These are the wooden beads we used. Both sizes were purchased at Hobby Lobby. The larger ones do not have a hole all the way through, so they were perfect for the head. The smaller beads made the bodies of our monkeys. We painted them brown with a color that matched our pipe cleaners as closely as possible. I don’t think it matters to have it perfect, though!
I used tan paint to do the mouth part on each head. Then we started assembling the monkeys.
Start with 3 pipe cleaners, and twist them together as shown below.
The top three strands will be for the head and arms. The bottom three will make the legs and tail.
Slide the body bead onto all three lower strands.
Then start bending the pipe cleaner legs to make feet.
The legs look best if they have a double layer of pipe cleaner. So form the feet, and then bend the excess upward. I either tucked the end into the body bead, or wrapped it around the monkey’s “waist” (below the bead). Just do whatever works.
Then bend the arms.
Cut the head strand so that you have just enough left to fold over to be a neck.
Attach the head with a little hot glue.
Then cut tiny rounded ears out of felt. Glue those to the sides of the head.
Ta-da! Isn’t he cute? We used a short piece of a yellow pipe cleaner to make a banana. The monkey’s hands are posable, and he can hold things.
It’s fun to pose a monkey on the end of a pencil. Where else will your little monkey want to hang around?
Have fun crafting! Here are some more of our favorite animal crafts:
- Paper Roll Animals – Turn a cardboard tube into monkeys, elephants, lions, and an alligator.
- Pipe Cleaner Animals – The chameleon is my favorite.
7 Comments
Lisa Jun 9, 2017
Awww... these little monkeys are too cute! My little one will absolutely love making these. Thank you for sharing the tutorial!
Cheers,
Lisa at Dreams and Caffeine
Christine Jul 13, 2017
What a cute monkey! I added it to my creative monkey roundup :) Hope thats okay? Have a nice day! Best whishes Christine :)
grace Aug 7, 2017
I love it and I'll try to make it.
Barb Aug 31, 2017
Those are adorable!!
Jad Sep 23, 2017
These so cute. Thank you for the tutorial. My toddlers love the five litlle monkeys song. I could make five of these and wind them around my fingers and literally they could see them fall out one at a time.
Suzanne Feb 3, 2021
Where did you buy the brown pipe cleaners? I've checked the major craft stores and they have dark brown but we like that color brown you used. Thank you.
Brenda Feb 17, 2023
Thank you Sara for this simple cute monkey pipe cleaner idea. Using it with my seniors in home care. They love to see me & my pipe cleaners & what WE can make.
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