Large Cardboard Candy Canes

The size of your finished project will be determined by the size of the cardboard core you use.

To create the illustrations for this instructable, I used 6 toilet paper cores. The larger canes showed in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th photos were made from the large cores that flooring comes on. The ones that flank my front steps were made from 12 foot cores, the medium size from a 6 foot length. We retrieved these cores from a neighbors dumpster when they were renovating, but I suspect your local flooring store would have some available.

Cutting tools:

Jig/skill saw (if making cane from flooring cores) -a saws/all works really well- or

Electric Kitchen knife (for gift wrap cores)

And Craft Knife, Scissors

Cores

Toilet paper (6+), or

paper towel (2), or

gift wrap (1 or 2 depending on length), or

mailing tubes (2 possibly 3), or

flooring cores (1 or ½ of 1)

Glue (if combining cores to increase length)

Paper for template

Staple gun (if working on a flooring sized core) Staple the ribbon in place at top and bottom

Tape use to temporally hold template together to assess curve of crook

White tape or white adhesive backed vinyl cut into strips to create the white part of the cane

Red ribbon for stripes

Other ribbon for decorative bow

Select your core based on availability and size desired for finished cane.

For these directions I selected 6 toilet paper cores. This created a candy cane that was 15" tall

Take 1 tube and split it lengthwise.

Slice into 4 parts

Place glue on 1/2 of the part and insert partway into first tube creating an inner collar

Do this for all but 1 of your remaining cores

Allow to dry

Assemble into 1 long tube by gluing inner collar into the base of next core

Allow to dry

Cut a rectangle the width of the core diameter and the same length

cut notches near the top where the cane should curve

fold paper and tack with tape to close notches, and assess...

remove tape and cut more notches if needed.

when strip mimics the curve you are seeking, lay the paper out flat. This is the template you will use to cut the core.

tape template to the core and mark

flip template over and mark other side

draw lines across the 2 sides

Use a cutting tool to cut out wedges. I used an electric kitchen knife.

Periodically bent core up to check the curve. Remove additional material, or cut additional wedges to form the shape you want.

set core down on a piece of white tape.

Slice outer edge into strips and fold them onto the core

Wrap white tape diagonally around and up the candy cane starting at the bottom.

To get a smoother wrap, try to stretch the tape as you go. also, Narrower strips lay flatter.

Squeeze the gaps together at the top as you wrap to form the curve

Use a craft knife to trim the overlap from your cane.