DIY Candle Making
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!
Soy Wax
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.
Wicks
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
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
Method
- Weigh out how much soy wax and fragrance you require. Example if your container is 200g wax weight. 200 x 8% (this is fragrance % usually between 5 – 10%) = 16gm this is your fragrance amount 200 – 16 (this is to determine wax amount) = 184gm this is your wax weight
- Add soy wax to a pouring pitcher, glass pyrex jug, stainless steel jug or old pot and melt the wax using the double boiler method (see overleaf).
- Using the thermometer heat wax until 85C, stirring occasionally.
- Add in your fragrance and stir thoroughly but gently.
- Take the jug out of the double boiler and sit aside (on a heat resistant surface) until the temperature comes down to 65C.
- While the wax is cooling, use the wick sticker to attach wick to the container making sure it is centred.
- Stir the wax again at 65C then pour slowly into the tumbler.
- Use the wick holder to centre the wick.
- While the jug is warm, clean out with paper towels and a little isopropyl alcohol (if you have it).
- Let the candle cool overnight, then trim the wick to 6mm (do this also each time you light it). Let the candle cure for a minimum of 48 hours but ideally up to 2 weeks. The longer curing time will improve hot and cold scent throw of your candle.
Double Boiler Method
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
