How to Make a Candy Lei for Graduation

Make your graduates day even sweeter with a candy lei they can wear at their ceremony! Candy leis are a festive, wearable treat that is easy to do, available in various styles, and are perfect for any celebration. Here are 2 different styles of candy leis you can make for an inexpensive way to bring fun to any celebration!

What You’ll Need

Double-Single-Double Candy Lei – 33 pieces of taffy used

Time: 1 hour

Steps:
1. Begin by laying out the taffy in a long row with your 2-1-2 pattern. In the example, we used peppermint striped candy for the double sets, and watermelon taffy for the singles.
2. Cut 5" to 6" ribbon and tie them to the top and bottom of EVERY piece of taffy.
3. To make the double row: Place two taffies side-by-side, and tie the bottoms and tops of each together.  (tip: tie all the double sets before you begin connecting the lei)
4. To make the single row: Take one end of ribbon and loop it through the tie on the “double taffies” and tie together with a square knot. 
5. Repeat the double, single, double pattern until you have the approximate length you want for your lei.
6. BEFORE you tie the lei together into a circle, this is the best time to take the side of a scissor and curl all the ends of the ribbon.
7. Tie the lei together with a square knot and enjoy!

The Big One Candy Lei– 3 lb bag of taffy used

Time: Approx 4 hours

Steps:

1. Cut a piece of ribbon to tie the taffies to. It’s a good idea to hang the ribbon around your neck to measure how long you want your candy lei to hang.
2. Take the ribbon that is left, and cut into even pieces. (about 8 inch pieces)
3. Tie ribbon pieces to one end of each piece of taffy. 
4. Tie taffy with the ribbons to the long piece of ribbon.
5. Tie the lei together with a square knot and enjoy!