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How to make container candles at home

Almost every candle fault, from sinkholes to weak scent to rough tops, comes from wax that was too hot or too cool at one step. Use a thermometer, follow your wax supplier's temperatures, and write them down.

Prepare the containers and wicks

1. Use thick, heat-resistant glass made for candles, or candle tins. Reject anything chipped or cracked. Never use thin drinking glasses, plastic or wood.
2. Clean and dry them completely. Any water makes the wax spit.
3. Warm the glass slightly if the room is cold. Cold glass makes the wax set too fast against it.
4. Stick the wick's metal tab firmly to the centre of the base.
5. Hold the wick upright and centred with a clothes peg or a wick holder across the rim.

Weigh everything

Weigh the wax, the fragrance and any dye on a digital scale, in grams. Add about 30 g of wax for what stays in the jug. Write the weights in a notebook before you start.

Melt the wax in a double boiler

Stand the pouring jug of wax in a pot with a few centimetres of gently simmering water. Never melt wax directly on the heat.

1. Stir now and then, and watch the thermometer.
2. Heat the wax to the temperature on the supplier's sheet. For many container soy waxes this is about 80 °C.
3. Do not go beyond it. Overheated wax discolours, loses its scent and smokes.
4. Lift the jug out onto a heat-resistant surface.

Add colour and fragrance

1. Dye goes in first, while the wax is hottest. Stir until it has dissolved.
2. Add the weighed fragrance at the temperature on the supplier's sheet.
3. Stir gently but thoroughly for about two minutes, scraping the sides and bottom. Poorly stirred fragrance separates and gives a weak, patchy scent.

Pour and cool

1. Let the wax cool to the pouring temperature, about 55 to 65 °C for many soy waxes.
2. Pour slowly, to about 1 cm below the rim. Keep a little wax back.
3. Check that the wicks are still centred.
4. Cool the candles slowly at room temperature, away from draughts and sun, for at least 24 hours. Never use the fridge.
5. If the surface has sunk around the wick, poke two or three small holes near the wick, reheat the wax you kept back, and pour a thin layer over the top.
6. Trim the wick to about 5 mm.

Let them cure

The fragrance needs time to bind with the wax. Allow two or three days for paraffin, and one to two weeks for soy. Store curing candles covered and out of the sun.

Common faults

• Sinkholes around the wick: poured too hot or cooled too fast.
• Wet spots on the glass: cold glass or fast cooling. They do not affect burning.
• White frosting: natural in soy wax, and harmless.
• Rough top: uneven cooling. Warm the surface briefly with a hairdryer or heat gun.
• Weak scent: too little fragrance, added too cool, not stirred enough or not cured.
• Oily surface: too much fragrance.
• Cracked glass: thin glass, or very hot wax poured into cold glass.

This guide is based on Chapter 3 of Candle and Soap Making at Home, which also covers choosing waxes and wicks and testing candles for safety.