This year, my favorite plushie series was the red-horned spooky plushies. So, today, for pipe cleaner crafts, I am featuring a cute devil ghost sitting inside a pumpkin, made using pipe cleaners. It is also holding a small buddy fork wand. Make it this Halloween. First, fold orange pipe cleaners into eight curved segments and glue them together into a hollow pumpkin base.
Red-Horned Ghost Plushie over A Pumpkin
Burn a black pipe cleaner with a lighter to get thin wire, bend it into eyes and a zigzag mouth, and glue them onto the pumpkin.
Next, fold white pipe cleaners into loops and shape them into a bell-shaped ghost body. Add small white arms, black eyes, a red nose, and red horns. Finally, glue the ghost onto the pumpkin and attach a small pitchfork.
Difficulty Level
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Level: Intermediate
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Why: This project requires safely using an open flame from a lighter to burn fuzz off wire, bending tiny facial lines, creating uniform curved pumpkin segments, and shaping a hollow multi-loop ghost body that fits neatly onto the pumpkin.
Materials & Bending Techniques
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Bending & Shaping Techniques Used: This is a pipe cleaner craft rather than paper origami. The wire shaping techniques include:
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Loop Folding: Doubling the wire into base loops.
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Wire Wrapping: Wrapping wire closely around a loop core to create thick solid petals.
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C-Curve Bending: Bending flat petals into curved pumpkin segments.
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Fuzz Stripping: Burning the outer fibers with a flame to expose bare black wire.
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Fine Wire Bending: Bending bare wire into angular shapes (“<“, “>”) and a zigzag mouth.
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Radial Loop Bundling: Gathering several white U-shaped loops together and spreading them into a flared bell shape.
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Pinch Bending: Folding and trimming tiny red wire pieces into sharp devil horns.
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Materials:
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Orange pipe cleaners (for pumpkin base)
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White fluffy pipe cleaners (for ghost body and arms)
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Black pipe cleaner (for pumpkin face details and pitchfork)
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Red pipe cleaner (for devil horns and nose)
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2 small black craft bead eyes
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Lighter
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Hot glue gun and glue sticks
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Scissors
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Ruler
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Learn to Make the Pipe Cleaner Ghost Plush
Better learn the whole method of making this plush pumpkin using pipe cleaners in this tutorial:
Frame-by-Frame Quick Guide
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00:00 – 00:07: Preview of the finished devil ghost in a pumpkin.
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00:08 – 01:16: Cut orange pipe cleaners in half, fold into loops, wrap wire tightly around them, and curve each piece into a C-shape to make eight identical pumpkin segments.
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01:17 – 02:02: Apply hot glue along the inner edges of the orange segments and join all eight pieces into a round, hollow pumpkin base.
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02:03 – 02:28: Light a lighter along a black pipe cleaner to burn off the fuzz. Bend the exposed black wire into two angled eye shapes and a zigzag mouth.
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02:29 – 02:52: Hot glue the zigzag mouth and angled eyes onto the front of the orange pumpkin.
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02:53 – 04:53: Cut white pipe cleaners into equal lengths, fold them into U-shaped loops, bind them together at the top, and spread the loops outward to shape a hollow, bell-shaped ghost body with ruffled bottom edges.
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04:54 – 05:18: Fold two small white pipe cleaner pieces into stubby arms and glue them to the sides of the ghost.
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05:19 – 05:46: Glue a small red piece in the center for a nose, attach two black beads for eyes, and glue two pointed red horns on top of the ghost head.
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05:47 – 06:03: Apply hot glue around the bottom rim of the white ghost and press it firmly into the top opening of the pumpkin.
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06:04 – 06:20: Glue a small black wire pitchfork into the ghost’s hand to complete the Halloween figure.