Making your own fragranced soy candles is easy and fun. Candles make a great home-made gift and bring a bit of magic ambiance into your home. You may have collected some pretty glass containers or teacups from antique shops and want to turn them into candles, or you may be re-using an old candle jar. If you are a complete beginner try our candle kit!
We recommend using Golden brands GW464 soy wax. It is an all-natural soy wax that holds lots of fragrance oil and helps reduce frosting. Golden Brands 464 is our bestselling soy wax and a favourite of soy candle makers everywhere. You can also try your hand at making a beeswax candle, beeswax is harder than soy wax so you will need a bigger wick than what is recommended for soy. Usually 2-3 sizes bigger will work. Always experiment first! If you want to colour your wax, we have a large range of candle dye blocks in some lovely colours.
Choosing the right size wick for your container is very important. A wick that is too small will not melt the wax to the edge of the container and you will get a ‘tunnel’ down the middle of the candle. A wick that is too big will have a large flame and the candle will have a deep ‘melt pool’. Soot will collect on the inside of the container and your container could get too hot and could crack. The first step is to measure the diameter of your container, this measurement will determine what size wick you need for your candle. All our wicks have the ‘burn diameter’ listed on the product page. You can choose the ‘burn diameter’ that matches the diameter of your container. We also have wick recommendations for all the candle containers that we sell. If you have a container that has a wider top (teacup) choose the widest diameter for your wick. Always do a burn test first to make sure you have the right wick - find our wicks here.
Fragrance or Essential oils can be used to fragrance your candle. Essential oils are a little different, they are more volatile and will burn off when put into wax that is too hot, so ensure to keep your wax temp as low as possible if using essential oils. Fragrances are much easier to use and will give a stronger throw than essential oils. Fragrances are used between 5-10% in soy wax. We have a huge range of fragrances to choose from.
Equipment you will need:
- Pouring pitcher, glass pyrex jug, rice cooker or old pot
- Pot for double boiler method
- Soy Wax
- Fragrance (optional)
- Dye Block (optional)
- Wick – make sure it is the right size for the container
- Wick Bar/Wooden wick holder
Fill a saucepan with a third of water, bring to the boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Place the wax into a pouring pitcher, tempered glass or stainless steel jug small enough to fit inside the saucepan and is best if the handle from jug goes over the outside of the pot. Carefully place the jug onto the simmering water. Stir wax every now and again as it melts.
Other candle Recipes click here or try our Make Your Own Candle Kit
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