How to make my own candles

Step by step

1. 01

   Glue the wick tab dead-centre on the tin floor. The wick must stand up. Lean is a tunnel later.

2. 02

   Set the pitcher in the saucepan water. Melt the flakes on low until they are clear, around 70–80 °C for soy. No smoke, no dry pan.

3. 03

   Take the pitcher off the heat. If you are scenting, wait until the wax is about 60–65 °C, then stir the oil for two full minutes.

4. 04

   Pour slowly down the side of the tin to 1 cm below the rim. Yanking the wick now will flood the tab.

5. 05

   Clip the wick between chopsticks laid across the rim so it dries centred. Leave it still for a few hours.

6. 06

   Do not light it for 24 hours. Soy needs a set. Trim the wick to 5 mm before the first burn.

7. 07

   First burn: let the melt pool reach the edges, or the candle will remember a small well forever.

Notes

• Never melt wax in a microwave unattended or on a stove eye. Wax fires are grease fires — lid, not water.
• If the wick drowns, it was too thin for the diameter. If it mushrooms and smokes, it is too fat or untrimmed.
• Essential oils are not formulated to bind in wax the way candle fragrance oils are. They can smell like nothing or like a headache.

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