Are you looking to bring a little beauty and creativity into your life, or even into your business? When it comes to crafting something truly unique that will light up any room, nothing quite compares to making your own pillar candles. Pillar candles are both practical and decorative, so why not give it a try? In this blog post, we’ll be covering everything you need to know about how to make one yourself! From finding the right materials for the job, through to pouring wax without ending up in a mess here is the practical guide on how to make your very own pillar candle.
Crafting a pillar candle is an enjoyable activity – both fun and therapeutic! It lets you make something creative with your hands, while also unlocking the potential of aromatherapy. Whether as a hobby or for selling at craft fairs and markets, making your own pillar candles can be immensely rewarding! Not only are pillar candles surprisingly easy to make with simple supplies, but creating pillar candles can be both therapeutic and satisfying. Plus, handmade candles make perfect gifts that anyone can appreciate.
Candle making has been around for centuries as a form of symbolic expression while adding warmth and ambiance in home decoration. This traditional skill can be used to make gifts, decorations, therapeutic items, and more. A skill that has grown in popularity in recent years, with the home fragrance boom during the pandemic it seems there is still a love and possible addiction for candles to this day!
For our most asked FAQs, ingredient information and top tips scroll to the bottom.
Ingredients for Pillar Candle Making:
• 1Kg Pillar Candle Wax
• 200g Fragrance Oils
• Candle Wick
• Candle Mould
This recipe makes a 1kg pillar candle. You can also add in colour using our liquid dyes or dye chips.
Equipment for Pillar Candle Making:
• Cooker or heat source to melt the wax
• Container to melt the wax in such as a double boiler or a pan inside a pan
• Utensil to stir the wax
• Thermometer
• Wick Centering Tool
• Weighing scales
• Bowl, Jug or Box (For stabilising your mould)
Now let’s being the fascinating technique of creating pillar candles!
How To Make a Pillar Candle…
Step One: Preparation
It’s vital to set up your workspace before you start creating pillar candles, especially since working with wax can be pretty sticky! Move anything you don’t want wax on so that you can work on a tidy, level surface. Additionally, be sure to have your mould and wick available because the process may move much more quickly than you might anticipate.
We’ll begin by weighing your wax. In this recipe, we will be making a large pillar candle using 1kg of pillar or melt wax.
TOP TIP: Simply fill your container with water, pour it into a measuring jug, and then measure the volume of water it carries in milliliters if you are unsure of how much wax you need. Take 20% off of this figure and this will give you the weight (grams) of wax your mould can hold.
Step Two: Melting your wax
Next, gently stir the wax while heating it to 70°C, it is worth nothing that waxes have different melt points, don’t go over 80 °C. Your wax will melt in 10 to 15 minutes. For this recipe, we have melted our wax in a saucepan over a low heat. Alternatively you can create a double boiler, by setting a glass bowl on top of a pan of half-filled water.
Step Three: Prepare your mould and wick
Whilst your wax is melting, wash your candle mould in hot water, ensuring there are no foreign objects inside and the mould has fully dried.
Then, firmly secure your two mould halves together, ensuring all seals are pressed together. At the bottom there is a small notch to feed your wick through, then seal your mould tightly around the wick and trim with a little excess. Using a wick centering tool and a clamp (we used a small bull dog clip) pull your wick firmly in the center of your mould so that it is taut, feed into your centering tool and clamp your wick in place. Then, clamp together the base of your mould with two larger grips just to ensure no leakage.
Stabilise your mould ready for pouring, by placing it inside a box, jug or bowl to hold it steady. Our clamps had a flat bottom to hold it upright, we then used a jug to hold the mould in place.
Step Four: Adding Fragrance
Then, carefully remove your melted wax from the heat. Allow your wax to cool to 65°C and slowly pour in your fragrance, stirring as your pour to ensure it blends throughout. We suggest using up to 10% fragrance oil therefore 100g of fragrance oil will fragrant 1kg of wax.
Adding your fragrance when your wax is too hot, will cause evaporation and you may lose some of the strength of your scent. If you are adding colour we would recommend adding it at this stage.
Step Five: Pouring
Now that all of the ingredients have been combined, it’s time to pour. Let your wax cool to 60°C before pouring. Pour the wax into your candle mould slowly, leaving 1 cm at the top (you can move the wick centering while doing this; when finished, put it back in the centre). To prevent air bubbles, it’s crucial that you slowly pour the wax into the mould. Keep any wax that is left over; you may need it later. After that, leave your pillar candle to set, preferably overnight.
Step Six: Finishing Touches
Candle making can come with a few snags, one being sink holes. Fear not; this is an inevitable element of producing candles since wax naturally shrinks as it cools. This may result in a sink hole around the wick in the middle of your pillar candle. There are two options for fixing this…
• The top layer of your wax can be heated using a heat gun or hair dryer. The hole is then filled and the top is smoothed out by the melted wax.
• Second, you can gently pour your left-over wax, that has been heated to 65°C, into the sinkholes to create a smooth, flat surface. To acquire a completely flat surface, you might need to repeat this step two or three times. However, we would only advise this if there is room at the top of your candle.
Once fully set, remove your wick centering tool, then carefully remove your pillar candle from it’s mould. Trim your wick to approximately 5mm on top and cut off completely at the bottom. Then you can light and enjoy your pillar candle!
If your candle requires a label, now is the time to apply your label to the bottom of your candle.
Please note, this pillar candle making guide is a general starter guide for beginners into making pillar candles. Variations in waxes, fragrances, and dyes can all affect the finished product, what works for some candles may not work for others.
The key to making amazing pillar candles is all down to trial and error.
Pillar Candle Making FAQs
What is the difference between a pillar candle and a container candle?
Pillar candles and container candles are two distinct types of candle-making that involve different supplies and techniques. Both are equally delightful and therapeutic as the other, but different in style and appearance.
Pillar candles are freestanding wax structures that can either be inserted or placed directly onto a surface like a board or shelf. These candles are typically between 2 to 6 inches in diameter, with the most common size being three inches. Container candles on the other hand, generally use metal or glass jars as their container, which can be used to house larger quantities of melted wax, wicks and scents for a strong scent throw. Unlike pillar candles, container candles come in all shapes and sizes ranging from small tealight holders to large mason jars.
We stock a wide range of high quality ingredients, moulds, containers, wicks and more, to fulfill your pillar and container candle requirements.
What wax is best for pillar candles?
There are a diverse range of pillar waxes that work perfectly when making pillar candles. From KeraSoy Pillar Blend to ParaSoy Professional Melt Wax, CocoPro Melt Wax to Paraffin Pillar Blend.
Paraffin Pillar Blend – Can be used to create strong, long-lasting candles that will hold their shape well without cracking under pressure. It’s also relatively inexpensive compared to other types of waxes, making it appealing for craft projects or for larger production runs.
KeraSoy Pillar Blend Wax – Is a blend of soy and natural waxes developed specifically for the production of pillar candles. This biodegradable and vegan friendly wax holds your scents well and releases from the mould with ease.
ParaSoy Professional Melt Wax – Our ParaSoy wax is the best of both worlds, developed by professionals to have the scent throw of paraffin wax, combined with the same appealing look and usability of soy wax. This paraffin and soy wax blend makes for amazing pillar candles.
CocoPro Melt Wax – If you are looking for a soy free and paraffin free wax then CocoPro is for you! Made from coconut and rapeseed wax, it is 100% plant based with no additives, this wax is extremely thermally stables and can tolerate repeated heating cycles, making it friendly towards fragrances.
Finally, an alternative that many crafters choose as their go-to choice for pillar candles is Beeswax, due its flexibility and ability to make complex shapes easily though there is typically a trade off between cost and strength here so make sure you understand what kind of candle performance youre looking for before committing!
