How to Make Candles
See how easy it is to make candles at home with this easy to follow and thorough tutorial. See my best tips above in the full blog post.
Equipment
- Pair of Scissors
Ingredients
- Containers
- Wax paper newspaper, butcher paper, etc.- this makes cleanup much easier.
- Soy wax I've found that the flakes melt better than the pellets.
- Wicks
- Wick stickers or glue
- Wick bars or clothes pins
- Candle fragrance or essential oils
- Paper Towels
Instructions
- Select your containers and pre heat them. (This will prevent little craters from forming as the candle wax cools.) To do this, place them on a cookie sheet in an oven that's preheated to 150° - 170°. Leave the containers in the oven until you're ready to fill them. Handle them with an oven mitt.
- Measure your wax.One pound of dry/unmelted candle wax = 20 oz. of melted (liquid) wax. Add up the ounces needed for all of your containers and divide the number by 20 to determine how many pounds of wax you need. For example, a pint sized jar holds 16 oz. of melted wax so you would need .8 lb. or 16/20 lb. (Another way to know how much was you need is to add water to each container you're using, then pour all of the water into a large measuring cup to see the total amount of melted was you'll need.) Add the wax to your candle pourer.
- Melt the wax. You can melt it on the stovetop or in the microwave. Place the wax pourer inside of a large pot filled with a few inches of water. Bring the water to a boil. Heat the wax to 170° to 180°. Let it cool to 130° or 140° and then add your fragrance. You can also melt the wax in the microwave. Add it all to a large microwaveable bowl and microwave it on high in 30 second intervals. Stir and repeat until melted to 170°.
- Add wicks to containers. Attach the wicks to your containers with wick stickers.You can use a hot glue gun, but they sometimes come unglued when the hot wax is added.
- Add fragrance. Once the wax has cooled to 130° - 140°, add your fragrance.
- Pour wax into containers. Carefully pour the wax into your containers but don't fill them all the way to the top. Use the wick stabilizers to center the wicks in the middle of the container for even burning. Reserve a few ounces of melted wax to finish the candles after they harden.
- Allow to cool completely and fill in cracks and tunnels. As the candle cools you might have small craters or tunnels that develop. Use the reserved melted wax to fill these in. The wax may need to be melted again, but doing this will make your candles look so much better.
- Trim Wicks.Trim the wicks to 1/4". Don't burn near or on anything flammable. Don't leave unattended.
Notes
- If you're just starting, this candle making kit has everything you'll need.
- For easier cleanup, place wax paper, newspaper, or parchment paper over the surface where you'll be pouring the candles.
- To prevent tunneling, the first time you burn the candles make sure you burn them until they're liquid across the entire top.
