7 Ways To Make A Candle Luminary

As the temperatures rise and the days grow longer, it’s time to start thinking about ways to add a festive and inviting atmosphere to our outdoor gatherings. Whether you’re planning a backyard BBQ, a pool party, or an evening of stargazing, a handmade luminary can be a lovely and affordable way to add some ambiance and warmth to the occasion.

Luminaries are essentially vessels that hold candles or lights and diffuse their glow through decorative cutouts or translucent materials. They come in all shapes and sizes, and can be made from a variety of materials such as paper, glass, and even tin cans. Not only are they visually pleasing, but they can also be functional, helping to light up a walkway, patio, or other outdoor space.

If you’re looking to create your own luminaries, there are a multitude of options to choose from. Some popular materials for DIY luminaries include mason jars, paper bags, and even recycled materials such as wine bottles and tin cans. Each material offers its own unique texture and lighting effect, and can be customized to fit the occasion or your personal style.

Here are 7 ideas to get you started on your luminary-making journey:

1- Pineapple Candle Centerpiece from Smarty Had A Party

2- Patriotic Luminaries from Saved By Love Creations

3- Milk Jug Waterlily from Fab Art DIY

4- Easy Mason Jar Luminaries from Dream A Littler Bigger

5- Yarn Wrapped Painted Jars from The Forge

6- Starry Night Luminaries from The Shabby Creek Cottage

7- Star Fish Luminary from The Inpired Room

For years now Berroco has been releasing a tiny set of Christmas ornament knitting patterns, often modeled on human-sized clothes, called Minutia. The ones for this year haven’t come out yet, but somehow I missed last year’s so I wanted to share them, as well as a fun little twist they offered.

The general 2025 Minutia patterns include a circular yoke sweater, a two-color stocking and a ribbed earflap hat. They’re super cute and perfect for using little (or should I say minute?) amounts of yarn left over from other projects. Make them in Christmas colors or whatever you have on hand. Even if you don’t have exactly the same yarn weight, you can still make these cute additions to your holiday decor.

But what really caught my eye while I was on the Berocco site was the Team Colors Minutia, which are actually different patterns so I’m not even sure when they were released, but they are definitely worth talking about.

These patterns include a little raglan sweater with stripes and a stocking cap with contrasting pom pom.

They call for sport weight yarn, but again you could use sock or DK if that’s what you have in the right colors. And here the right colors are important because you’re stitching your team colors.

Or anyone else’s team colors.

I immediately thought that this would be an amazing holiday gift for someone who you never know what to get but who also happens to like sports. Or has gone to a university that has colors.

Another option would be to leave off the stripes and add a number in duplicate stitch if you or the person you’re knitting for has a favorite player. Or stitch a letter or a tiny version of the team logo on the front. There are lots of options!

If you make these, I’d love to hear what you did with them!

[Photo: Berroco]

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