You may remember the homespun candy cane tutorial I did last year…they were such a hit! I’ve spent the last week making MASSES of them since I sold out so quickly last year at my craft show. This year I did some a little different! 🙂
I was at the Dollar Tree getting more of my usual candy canes when I spotted some MINI candy canes! Yay for miniature stuff!!! I knew they’d be easy to pop off their cheesy garland. Another dollar store SCORE!!! There are two Dollar Trees near me…one had them and one didn’t. Moral of the story: be sure to check all your local $ stores, so you don’t miss anything!
So after easily popping them off the plastic garland, I wrapped them up the same way as the bigger ones…how freakin adorable are these??
I thought they were a bit tiny to sell individually (although you could…) so I wrapped them in bundles of 5 and tied them with a piece of twine. I also added a little rusty bell.
Meanwhile, I have piles and piles of the regular sized ones ready to go!
Here’s a little refresher on the how-to. All I did was tear strips of fabric and used a hot glue gun to attach the fabric to one end, and start WRAPPIN’!
Keep it pulled tight as you wrap. At the end, seal off with a little more hot glue.
Trim off the excess fabric at the end…
…and using a dab of hot glue, fold down the end fabric. Be careful! I usually burn my fingers doing this part! DONE! 🙂
I figured since I’m doing small and medium candy canes…why not do a few LARGE ones too! How about EXTRA LARGE! $6 at the Amvet for 12 ginormous candy canes…
I also did these a little differently this year. I didn’t bother with wrapping with white muslin to create “stripes”…I liked them as is! Added a sprig of faux pines and two little rusty bells. I only have these 3 done so far, but I think I’ll do a variety of just green and red homespun fabrics.
Some other weekend projects consisted of cleaning this old mailbox and getting ready to bring it over to the co-op. It took a lot of scrubbing…but now she is a primitive BEAUTY! I kinda want to keep it but it’s a little TOO prim for Greg…
Love that old wood showing through! Wish I had the time and patience to strip this thing…
…And had to fit in some spray painting while the weather is still nice!!!
I finally got around to painting some of these thrift store wooden bowls. I have so many fun “bowl fillers” to sell…why not some bowls too?!
I sanded the edges but that’s about it. I can never get it to look quite right when trying to sand a curved surface…they just end up looking messy.
Well I guess that’s about it. It was a beautiful weekend and I was glad I could get outside and putter around before the snow flies. Have a great week and Happy Crafting! 🙂
Nov 14, 2011 @ 12:29:46
As usual-love all your ideas-and really love that old pigeon-hole mailbox-so much potential there. Amazing what you can do with a creative eye like yours!! Love those outdoor photos too!
Nov 14, 2011 @ 14:53:26
I like the picture of the dog. What are you going to wrap him in?
Nov 14, 2011 @ 18:06:48
I’ve been wrapping candy canes today for my upcoming show. Might have to try some with just one color of fabric and not do the muslin…yours are so cute!!
Hope you have a great show.
Cindy
Nov 17, 2011 @ 08:40:21
Thanks Cindy, good luck at your show as well! Sounds like it’s been a bit of a bumpy road getting there, but with all your awesome stuff I know you’ll do great!!! ~Maggie
Mar 07, 2012 @ 20:11:58
I know this is a bit late, but just saw this. What do you sell these candy canes for? TY. Karen
Mar 09, 2012 @ 13:43:57
No problem Karen! I sell these candy canes for $1 a piece or 6 for $5 at my craft show and have had a lot of success at that price. I also was doing bunches of 5 tied together with a cute bow for $4.50 at my co-op! Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a wonderful weekend! ~Maggie
Nov 15, 2011 @ 14:58:59
Hi Maggie,
Love the candy canes! What a super, quick and fun project. Great for tying on packages etc. Your Shepard is adorable. 🙂 Where do you purchase the homespun fabric? Love how you’ve decorated your house with the lights. I long to be able to do that here. Your painted wooden bowls turned out great ~ don’t be so hard on yourself! Do you make your own bowl-fillers? Have always thought about giving that a try (salt dough.)
Yes, gorgeous weather we’ve been having, huh? Appreciating it to the max!
Nov 16, 2011 @ 20:10:05
I found those tiny candy cane garlands just this Monday. They don’t have them at our local dollar tree, but at one in a nearby town. I chose to let mine on the string of beads but wrapped it with twine and tied a piece of green homespun between each cane, which I wrapped in off whit material ( made from a queen size sheet that I got at Goodwill for $1.99) then wrapped a spiral of red hom
espun around each. very cute!
Nov 17, 2011 @ 08:39:11
Sounds so cute!!! Great idea leaving them on the string and just covering it with twine! You should send me a pic and I’ll post it under this tutorial! 🙂 Thanks for checkin out my blog Kathy! Have a great day!!! 🙂 ~ Maggie
Nov 17, 2011 @ 14:02:21
Hello,
I love those Candy Canes!! How do you START and FINISH them , what kind of glue or do you glue the WHOLE thing??? Love your lights too.
Hugs,
Rosa Marie
Nov 17, 2011 @ 16:13:22
Hi Rosa Marie! It’s easy! I use a hot glue gun, because of it’s quick dry time. Now you’ve got me thinking I may add a few more “how-to” pix and info. Basically, I just put a line of hot glue (about an inch) on the bottom portion and just wrap it until the end, and finish with a small line at the end. I don’t put glue along the whole length. Then at the very end I trim both ends and get the fabric really short, and fold them down and glue the little round ends. Does that make sense? I hope so! I am gonna go back and tweak it soon, so look for new “how to” pix in the next week! Thanks for stoppin by!!!! ~ Maggie 🙂
Oct 04, 2012 @ 23:42:21
Maggie,
I don`t think I ever replied to this. Thanks for answering my questions. Keep making the GREAT EASY CRAFTS for us.
Rosa Marie
Nov 17, 2011 @ 20:20:19
Saw something about your blog on another craft site. I love those primitive candy canes!
Nov 18, 2011 @ 17:49:30
Love these! I just found your blog and it is wonderful. Thank you for sharing these wonderful ideas!!
Nov 30, 2011 @ 10:58:01
Hey! Nice! I had the same idea after seeing some plaid wrapped ones at a local Christmas store. They were too big for my tree and way too expensive for me so I decided to make some myself. I couldn’t find any of the regular size plastic ones so I am using real ones (but I am not going to store them). I also had some of the small candy cane garland and did a few of those too.
Here are my instructions. I started and finished a little differently than you did. Mine are a little safer to make than yours (I burn myself everytime I use a hot glue gun!) as I used glue dots (and tape) becasue I wanted to be able to remove the fabric from the real ones! I used regualer fabric, but I can see you got great results with homespun. Just don’t have any contacts to get remnants from. I also need to send you the photos that go along with these instructions becasue it might be hard to follow them without the photos!
Fabric Wrapped Candy Cane
1. Obtain supplies:
a. “Country” print fabric (checked, gingham, etc.) in colors of your choice: on-hand or buy remnants at a fabric store or look for cheap fabric remnants at a flea market (got mine for around $2 and got enough to make more than I need for all my Christmas crafting projects).
b. Candy cane “form”: There are many forms to choose from – decide what size you need and if you would like to re-use them (don’t use real ones if you do).
i. Mini: Real, wrapped tight to cane ((on-hand or 40 for $1).
ii. Small: Small plastic canes cut off a candy cane garland (on-hand or $1).
iii. Regular: Plastic ornament (on-hand or 12 for $1). Real (on-hand or 12 for $1), Smoothfoam (On-hand or $1 each (?) Have seen these at a craft store, but can’t remember where. Maybe in a kit? What I liked about them is that they are fatter than the plastic ones and would just be super cute & chubby! Found them on-line too, but don’t plan to order any this year.).
iv. Medium: Save those plastic candy canes filled with candy and up-cycle them into ornaments.
v. Large: 6 to 8 inch plastic/resin ornaments (on-hand or $2 each at hobby/Christmas store).
vi. Extra Large: Large plastic outdoor canes (on-hand or $1 each at dollar stores).
2. Tear fabric into approximately 1 ½ inch strips (wide enough to wrap around the cane as shown in photo 2. Ravel edges as desired.
3. Attach fabric strip to candy cane base with tape as shown in photo 1. Then wrap around the cane so that it is completely covered and tape securely as shown in photo 2.
4. Twist the end shut. Place a glue dot near the tip of the bottom of the cane and fold over like shown in photo 3.
5. Then begin to wrap the cane base in a spiral manner as shown in photo 4.
6. Wrap the crook of the cane and then close off end like you began the wrap and secure with a glue dot.
7. The wrap around the end of the cane and secure with a couple of glue dots and trim off excess fabric.
8. Attach a bow made of distressed ribbon with a glue dot.
9. Hang and enjoy!
Nov 30, 2011 @ 19:40:03
Wow, great instructions Melba! I’d LOVE to see your pix too! You can email them to me (if/when you have time) at powersmargaret@yahoo.com. I love any variation on this project!!! 🙂
Dec 06, 2011 @ 23:15:26
These are delicious and I am going to make some!!! Thanks for the instructions ♥
Dec 07, 2011 @ 11:45:21
UPDATE: Here is an update on my candy cane crafting! I sent a picturiol tutorial for my instructions to you so hopefully you will be able to post them. Also had sm other ideas – these are probally not novel ideas, but I thought I’d share.
I found some tenny-tiny (2 inch) foam candy canes at Hobby Lobby (50 cents on sale for 8) and made some using them as forms. After I broke 2 I came up with wrapping the canes with clear packing tape to reiforce them. These came out too, too cute! They are perfect for a mini tree or attach a tie tack pin to the back to make wearable art!
At the local flea market I found some about 8 inch plastic canes (6 to 25 cents!) and am going to make some larger ones for a garland.
Also there I found some vintage very thin candy canes (you may remember putting these on your tree a LONG time ago (12 for 75 cents!). They were too thin to use as forms (just did not like the diamemter but you might) so I took a little quilt batting (could also use “snow” from your Christmas village) and cut it into strips and wrapped the canes with batting and then with fabric. Came out perfect! And these are very lightweight so would be economical to mail. Also this up-cycles them into a new life.
And speaking of recycling, save those plastic canes that candy comes in and re-use them as ornaments. Can you say “recycle”?
Don’t limit yourself to using fabric strips – while trolling the aisles of Goodwill looking for fabric scraps (have gotten large bags there for 99 cents) I came across some interesting possiblities with great patterns to use in place of fabric – cloth placemats, old quilts (great way to recycle those raggedy quilts), pillow cases, clothes, curtains – the possibilities are endless. AND this is a great way to make treasured keepsakes – think about using a baby blanket to make “Baby’s First Christmas” candy canes for the whole family!!!
You can also attach your ribbon to the bottom of the cane to make a “J” to hang on the tree.
And lastly, I am making some of the smaller canes (from the plastic beaded garland) to attach to one of those red bead garlands that mimics crandberries.
Dec 07, 2011 @ 22:13:17
Wow, thanks for all the great tips Melba! Yes I got your pix but haven’t had a chance to post them yet. I am so busy getting ready for my craft show that I’m about to go off the deep end! lol! Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and have a great weekend…keep on craftin! 🙂 ~Maggie
Dec 26, 2011 @ 11:27:47
Ok! I’m at those candy canes again!!! THIS time I am using wrapping paper to make package decorations that are also a sweet treat to eat!
Take a look:
http://buggalcrafts.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/candy-cane-package-decoration/
Jun 24, 2012 @ 21:28:29
very nice good idea how to wrap candycane love your site
Oct 04, 2012 @ 22:32:38
These are awesome! I finally got these done last week and they’ve already almost sold out at my booth. I’m gonna try to get around to making more this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas you have posted all through your blog! I love them all!
Here’s the link to my try at these, if you wish to see them:
http://www.booth555.com/2012/10/small-homespun-candy-canes.html
Nov 02, 2012 @ 06:42:13
Hi Cindy I look at your website every day and have visited your booth at the co-op. I love all of your ideas, I was able to pick up some of those large candy canes for 50 cents each at a thrift store many months ago. I have wrapped them but can’t deceide how much to sell them for. What is the price you put on yours at craft shows? Thanks Betty
Nov 02, 2012 @ 07:55:36
Hi Betty! (My name is Maggie, not Cindy, hehe) Thanks so much for visiting my blog and my booth! I tend to do more of the antiques and vintage items in my booth because for some reason the crafts don’t really sell that well there. I save them more for my craft show. I sell my candy canes for $1 each and they seem to sell well at that price. Have a great weekend and thanks again for stoppin in! 🙂 Maggie
Nov 03, 2012 @ 15:44:32
ok Maggie I was referring to the large large candy canes how much do you sell them for? Many years ago I had a booth at that co-op I too noticed that crafts did not sell that well there. You talk about your big craft show, where is it around here?
Nov 03, 2012 @ 18:52:27
Sorry Betty – the really large ones I sold for $6. The big show was yesterday and today, in Potsdam, NY. About 4.5 hours from my home, but my best friend lives there so I stay with her. It’s a great venue, always a good crowd, and it went great. Thanks for stoppin by my blog 🙂 Maggie
Dec 14, 2012 @ 01:28:06
Your fabric covered candy canes are delightful. Thanks for posting your tutorial. I made a post with photos of the ones I made and also a link to this post.
You’re welcome to come by and see it if you want.
Thanks again for this extra bit of festive decor for the holiday season. 🙂
Nov 05, 2013 @ 08:02:01
Love these! My daughter and I were going to try these. Now that you gave us the how to, I believe we’ll do just fine.
Nov 21, 2013 @ 17:31:43
Hi Maggie, Wanted to say how adorable your fabric wrapped candy canes are and thank you for the tutorial! Have a question I’m hoping you can help me with, on the normal sized candy canes how wide and long a strip fabric did you use?
Nov 22, 2013 @ 08:18:07
Hi Laurie! Thank you! I usually just “wing it” but the strips I use are usually about 1″ wide and I do not measure the length…I just wrap until they are covered. I buy fabric by the yard so I just pre-tear a bunch of strips and go at it. Hope you have fun with these – they are my most favorite (and easiest) craft ever!!! 🙂
Jan 10, 2014 @ 15:24:07
Hi Maggie☺
I just found your blog and really enjoyed it. I want to make some of these candy canes ornaments but dollar tree doesn’t carry them now, off season. Do you know where I can buy some of these canes? Really appreciate your help.
Jana
Feb 01, 2014 @ 08:47:01
Hi Jana and I apologize for the delayed response! I too have had that problem! If you go online to the Dollar Tree I think you can buy them in bulk all year ’round. I am not positive though. I have heard of some people making their own candy cane “forms” with wire, pipe cleaners, and even just ordering real candy canes to use. My solution would be just wait until they come out and then really stock up so you have plenty for the whole next year! Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!! maggie
Oct 28, 2014 @ 12:02:51
Love the candy canes…would love to make for family members. Where do you get your fabric?
Oct 28, 2014 @ 12:45:06
Hi Kim, I get all my fabric from Joann Fabrics in the homespun section. 🙂
Dec 15, 2014 @ 17:39:18
Love the candy canes. Can I ask where do u get the fabric. I love the look.
Thanks
Lindsey
Dec 16, 2014 @ 08:23:37
Hi Lindsey, I get my fabric at Joann Fabrics in the homespun section. They have a nice variety of country looking fabrics. Thanks and hope you have fun if you decide to give them a try! Maggie
Feb 06, 2015 @ 16:25:41
Never seen this done but it is so simple and yet so cute. THanks for sharing.
Feb 08, 2015 @ 09:45:45
Thanks for all your kind comments Pam, glad you enjoyed the posts. 🙂 Happy crafting! ~maggie
May 25, 2015 @ 07:49:49
Love your ideas! Thanks for laying them all out and not making us look all over the place or sign up for them, etc.
May 26, 2015 @ 08:19:14
Thanks Connie! I know what you mean…some sites make you fish for information or click a million times before finding the actual post…I just enjoy sharing my projects and am glad to share. 🙂
Sep 12, 2015 @ 11:08:37
Love your site and the candy cane ideas. I was asked to chair our annual church bazaar in November. We live in Northern Michigan and these “homespun” candy canes should be a wonderful addition. Can’t wait to share your ideas with our craft group ~ Wendy
Sep 16, 2015 @ 08:10:48
That’s so great Wendy, I hope your group enjoys making them. They always seem to sell really well, so hopefully you can make some money for your church. Thank you for stopping by and I am so glad you could find some inspiration here. Happy Fall! ~maggie
Oct 29, 2015 @ 11:59:55
How do I change my vote? I thought I was to click one star at a time so accidentally gave a one star rate! Ugh! Truly meant the max stars possible. I’m sincerely sorry for the mistake. Your blog is terrif and fun to read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nov 01, 2015 @ 08:16:15
No problem Dee!! Don’t worry about it, I appreciate you trying to leave a good review! Looks like there are 5 stars there now. Thank you! Hope you’re enjoying the Fall and having fun crafting! 🙂 maggie
Nov 18, 2015 @ 20:15:23
Sure was easy to find you, just typed in eyeballs, there you were. I’ve had those candy canes on my mind since last year, and just bought the last eight packages from the Dollar Tree. I have years of fabric, can’t wait to make these.you have the BEST BLOG, ever! Pam
Nov 20, 2015 @ 13:00:43
Thank you Pam!! Have fun with them. It’s my favorite Christmas craft ever. There’s something theraputic about sitting at the table wrapping candy canes. Happy Holidays! Maggie 🙂
Dec 13, 2015 @ 00:19:36
I made a bunch up for craft show this year – didn’t sell any :(. I still think they are super cute though
Dec 13, 2015 @ 08:11:53
Oh no, I am so surprised you didn’t sell any!!! Unless they were priced too high? Everyone I know that has made them always sells out! Oh well…craft shows can be tough sometimes. Save them for the next one and hopefully you’ll do better. ~maggie
Aug 10, 2016 @ 09:32:58
Thank you so much for sharing. A few question’s for you please, where do you buy your material, and rusty bells?
Aug 22, 2016 @ 06:36:36
Hi Julie! Sorry for taking so long to reply. I haven’t been doing a lot of crafting/posting lately, as you can see. I buy that material at Joann Fabrics, and the rusty bells online at places like factory direct craft. Just google rusty tin bells and you should find some craft outlet places that sell them. Hope that helps. 🙂 Maggie
Dec 19, 2016 @ 16:36:02
Where do you get the cute bells? I made a bunch of the cand canes after watching your instructions! Thanks!
Feb 05, 2017 @ 11:09:21
Hi Beverly! You can get those cute bells at factory direct craft. It was a few years ago, so not sure they still have them. I love those candy canes…still one of my favorite projects ever and great sellers at craft shows. 🙂 Maggie
Sep 10, 2017 @ 15:13:54
These candy canes are so country ! Really excited to make some. Thank you for sharing your great creations and also letting us know where to find the thriftiest way to make them. First time on your site and looking forward to all your wonderful creations. Thanks again Kayestes
Sep 26, 2017 @ 21:09:58
Absolutely adorable. I’m heading to our local Dollar Tree. So hope they have the candy canes!
Sep 29, 2017 @ 07:37:35
Hi Terrie! It might be a little early to find the candy canes but I promise you they’ll be there soon….every dollar tree I’ve ever been to sells them! One of my all tiem favorite projects cause they are so easy and cute. Have fun! Maggie
Oct 25, 2017 @ 08:49:01
My dollar store don’t carry the small candy canes. Any suggestions on where to find them?
Oct 26, 2017 @ 11:54:21
Hey Tammy! I bet you can order them online at the Dollar Tree website. I’ve only seen them at the Dollar Tree in particular, no other dollar stores carry those little ones. They are definitely harder to find, so when I do see them, I always snatch them up. Hope you find some!!!
Oct 09, 2018 @ 22:28:07
Love this idea. Can’t wait to try it?
Dec 18, 2018 @ 20:05:18
Your’re a little crafty genius
Oct 27, 2019 @ 23:14:49
What is Amvet? Is there a website? It’s like to order some of the bigger candy canes.
Nov 23, 2019 @ 08:25:00
Hi Tara, sorry for the late reply. Amvet is a thrift store so you can’t buy them online. I have seen the bigger candy canes at the dollar store though, but they are little thinner than these. I am sure you can find some if you look around, with all the Christmas decor out now!
Dec 17, 2020 @ 15:32:47
I can’t find big canes anywhere! Not even amazon. Any ideas?
Dec 18, 2020 @ 06:41:11
Hi Deb! I have found them in random places so I would just say keep your eye out! Sometimes you can find them in the outdoor decoration section! I have seen them at Walmart and Big Lots around here. Hope that helps! Happy Holidays and thanks for following! 🙂 Maggie