diff --git a/adafruit_binascii.py b/adafruit_binascii.py
index 1d38b6a..2e5b78d 100644
--- a/adafruit_binascii.py
+++ b/adafruit_binascii.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ def hexlify(data):
         if not data:
             raise TypeError("Data provided is zero-length")
         data = "".join("%02x" % i for i in data)
-        return data.encode()
+        return bytes(data, 'utf-8')
 
 B2A_HEX = hexlify
 A2B_HEX = unhexlify
@@ -187,4 +187,4 @@ def b2a_base64(bin_data):
         res.append(TABLE_B2A_B64[(leftchar & 0xf) << 2])
         res.append("=")
     res.append('\n')
-    return ''.join(res).encode('ascii')
+    return bytes(''.join(res), 'ascii')