Better Than Crochet: Tutorial to Make a Pipe Cleaner Dumpling Plushie in Basket

Reviewed By: TMR

TMR is a himself a crochet designer and teacher with over 3 years of expertise in hand.

Craft Tutor: KitschyFlore

She has the CUTEST library of pipe cleaner designs both festive and usual!

I only refer to the original resources of the designer. So, the pattern type is variable (video, written or both may be available!)

Pipe Cleaner Glittery Dumpling Plushie in Basket

dumplingPlushie

Type: Pipe Cleaner 3D Plushies

Time Needed: 20 Minutes

Parts: Basket and Dumpling

Plushie: Kawaii Eyed Buddy, Viral Gifts

This tutorial shows how to make a cute glitter dumpling and a steamer basket using pipe cleaners. First, weave yellow pipe cleaners around wire spokes to create a small round basket. Next, weave several curved pink sections and hot glue them together to build a three-dimensional dumpling.

Spray the dumpling and coat it with colorful glitter.

Make eyes using black UV resin with white highlights, and bend a trimmed black pipe cleaner into a smile. Finally, glue the facial features onto the dumpling, brush on makeup blush for rosy cheeks, and shade the basket with chalk pastel.

Similar Project(s)

Cuter Than Crochet: Origami Kawaii Eyed Dumpling in A Steamer Basket Squishy

From Origami Crafts

Tutorial to DIY Kawaii Face & Eye Dumpling Squishy Gift for Friends

From Viral Crochet Plushies DIY

Difficulty Level

Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Why: This project requires tight pipe-cleaner weaving, precise hot-gluing of curved sections without burning yourself, making and curing UV resin eyes under a lamp, shaving pipe cleaners with clippers, and shading with cosmetics and pastels.

Materials

Yellow and pink pipe cleaners (chenille stems)
Black pipe cleaner
Scissors and pliers
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Spray adhesive or hairspray
Fine glitter powder (yellow, orange, pink)
Black UV resin and UV light lamp (plus white paint/gel for eye highlights)
Electric trimmer/shaver (for trimming pipe cleaner fuzz)
Makeup eyeshadow/blush palette and small makeup brush
Soft chalk pastel (brown/orange)
Tweezers

Learn to Make the Dumpling Plush

Better learn the whole method of making this plush dumpling out of pipe cleaners in this tutorial:

Frame-by-Frame Quick Guide

00:00 – 00:01: Finished glitter dumpling preview.
00:02 – 00:06: Cross yellow pipe cleaners in a star/spoke pattern and weave another yellow pipe cleaner over and under in a spiral to form the flat bottom of the basket.
00:07 – 00:11: Bend the spokes upward, weave around them to build the basket walls, and cut off the excess upright wire ends with scissors.
00:12 – 00:17: Smooth and tuck the edges to finish the woven steamer basket tray.
00:18 – 00:26: Take a bundle of pink pipe cleaners, fold them into a curved leaf/petal shape, and weave a pink stem horizontally across them to make a solid dumpling section.
00:27 – 00:28: Trim the bottom wire ends neatly to create a finished dumpling wedge.
00:29 – 00:39: Hot glue several pink wedges together along their curved side seams until they close into a complete round dumpling.
00:40 – 00:42: Spray the dumpling with adhesive spray and sprinkle yellow, pink, and orange glitter over the surface.
00:43 – 00:44: Place drops of black UV resin onto clear tape, add white highlight dots, and cure them under a UV light to create shiny eyes.
00:45: Glue the cured eyes onto the front of the dumpling using tweezers.
00:46 – 00:48: Shave the fuzz off a piece of black pipe cleaner with an electric trimmer, bend the wire into a smile curve with pliers, and glue it below the eyes.
00:49 – 00:52: Dip a brush into pink eyeshadow/blush and apply color to both cheeks.
00:53 – 00:57: Rub brown chalk pastel along the edges of the woven baskets to give them a natural bamboo texture.
00:58 – 01:00: Display the finished dumpling inside or next to the handmade steamer basket.