Easy Peasy Bead People: Quick Steps to Cute Beaded Dolls

Crafting tiny bead people is quick, inexpensive and perfect for beginners. With pipe cleaners, beads, a small scrap of fabric and a little glue, you can make charming beaded dolls to hang as ornaments, zipper pulls or key charms. Follow these simple steps and add your own creative touches.

You'll need 2 pipe cleaners (aka chenille stems).

Bend one in half, and cut one into thirds.

I made a simple little dress template, then traced it onto my fabric with a fold at the shoulder line.

Slide that little dress onto the folded pipe cleaner, leaving enough space at top for your bead head plus a little loop for hanging.

Insert the shorter piece of pipe cleaner to form the arms and to give the body structure.

Glue the dress together and glue the bead head on. (I used Tacky Glue to attach the head and hot glue to secure the dress pieces.)

Then it's time to pick some beads — I don't have a lovely organized bead stash, I have bead soup.

Using tacky glue, attach beads to the ends of the pipe cleaners for hands and legs.

Finish by painting on a simple face, hot-gluing a button or other embellishment to the dress, and adding an embroidery-floss hanger if you want to hang your bead person. Allow glues to dry fully before handling.