How to Make Candles
Without a Mold
Make square, round or unusually-shaped candles without using traditional moulds or containers. Simply stack
wax shapes together into pillar formations; make candles by
rolling up sheets of wax; create beautiful flower candles with biscuit cutters;
make hand molded candles with soft waxes.
For the stacked candles, you can use biscuit cutters to cut out wax shapes;
draw
templates, and slice the wax out around them; use drinking glasses to cut out
regular shaped pieces of wax.
Stick wicks through the wax layers. Instant mould free candles! An easy
way to make two-toned or multi-colored candles.
Don't strive for perfection. These stacked, hand moulded or rolled beeswax
candles have an appealingly homemade, handmade and rustic look to them.
See the examples below. But I'm sure you'll be dreaming up your own unique candle ideas, in no time at all!
Basic procedures and wax mixtures used.
Make a Two-Toned Round Pillar Candle
The candle in the photo measures 7½ x 11 centimetres tall, (3 x 4.4").
You'll need
- 900 g (1,98 lb) paraffin wax
- 100 g (3,52 oz) stearin
- Red and yellow candle dyes
- A length of wick
- A wick sustainer
- A drinking glass
- A wicking needle
- A piece of paper and pen/pencil
- A baking pan
- Pliers
Instructions:
1. Melt half the stearin in a double-boiler. Add just a touch of yellow dye to create a rich ivory colour. Add half the quantity of paraffin wax.
2. Prime the wick in the melting wax. Remove, and leave to dry. Attach the sustainer to the wick, and tighten with a
3. When completely melted, pour the wax into the baking tin.
4. Draw a circle on the piece of paper using the water glass. Cut it out. Fold the circle in half, and in half once again.
5. Leave the wax until partially set, and still warm. Cut circles out of the wax, using the drinking glass.
6. Put the circular paper template onto each wax circle, and just prick the paper in the centre, using the wicking needle. Remove the paper, and reinforce the hole with the blunt end of a skewer.
7. Repeat the process with the orange wax. Mix yellow and red dyes into the stearin to produce the orange colour.
8. Leave the wax circles in both tins to set completely, until cold. Remove them.
9. Thread the first wax circle onto the wick, and push the sustainer firmly into the base.
10. Thread the rest of the wax circles onto the wick, until you achieve the wished-for candle height.
11. Melt a bit of the left-over wax. Leave it until it's semi-liquid. Spoon some in between the top and second layers,
around the wick, and clamp the two layers together. This fills the wick hole, and produces a better-burning candle.
This technique leaves quite a bit of left-over wax. You can save these wax pieces for future projects.
Make Your own Flower Shaped Floating Candle
Use a flexible wax for this candle. Dip-and-carve wax is the ideal, or add ½% Micro
Tacky or Workable Micro to paraffin wax.
We used a baking pan measuring 20.5 x 26 cm, (8.07" x 10.23"), to pour the wax into.
You'll need
- Wax paper
- A baking pan
- An apple-corer
- A bamboo skewer
- A wicking needle
- A length of wick
- 300 g (10,58 oz) dip-and-carve wax
- Pink, blue and yellow candle dyes
- Flower-like biscuit cutters, (3 different sizes)
- Translucent glossy sealer wax, (or plain paraffin wax)
- Dipping can
Instructions:
1. Melt the wax in a double-boiler. Mix pink and blue candle dyes to get a lilac shade.
2. Prime the wick in the melting wax. Remove, and leave to dry.
3. When completely melted, pour the wax into the baking tin. Leave till partially-set, but still warm.
Using the biscuit cutters, cut
out 4 flower shapes, for each flower candle you want to make, (2 shapes with the largest biscuit cutter, one each with the two smaller ones).
Make a hole in the centre of each with the skewer.
Remove the shapes carefully, and gently bend the petals upwards slightly. Leave to set completely on wax paper.
4. Pour a bit of wax - dyed yellow - into any small metal or glass dish. When partially-set, cut out a small circle with the apple-corer.
5. Stack the 4 flower shapes together. Stick the yellow circle on top. Thread the wick
through these, using the wicking needle. Tie the wick at the bottom.
6. Heat the paraffin wax in the dipping can, until it reaches 93°C (199.4°F). If using a glossy sealer wax, heat that to
103°C, (217.4°F). Quickly dip the flower candle in-and-out. Leave to set.
Make a Square Candle with Colored Stripes
We used a baking tin measuring 21 x 27cm (8.4 x 10.8"). Each wax layer measured ± 1cm (0.4") thick.
You'll need
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) stearin/paraffin wax mix
- Yellow/green/blue/black candle dyes
- A baking pan
- A length of wick
- A wicking needle
- Smooth kitchen knife
- A piece of paper and pen/pencil
Instructions:
1. Melt 500 g (1.10 lb) stearin and paraffin wax in a double-boiler. Mix green dye and a tiny amount of yellow, to create an apple-green colour. Prime the wick
in the melting wax.
2. Draw a 7 x 16cm (2.8 x 6.4") rectangle onto the piece of paper. This becomes the template for cutting out the wax slabs.
3. Pour the completely melted wax into the baking pan. Leave until partially-set but still warm. Using a smooth knife with no serrated edges,
cut the wax out around the template. Leave to set.
4. Remove the two wax rectangles. Weigh the left-over wax, and add more wax to make up another 500g quantity. Return this wax to the
double-boiler. Add enough blue dye to create a strong turquoise-blue.
5. Repeat step 3.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, this time adding green and black dye to the melting wax, to create a strong pine-green colour.
7. Choose two of the wax pieces for the middle section of the candle. Heat up the wicking needle, and lay it down the middle of a wax slab lengthwise. Form a groove deep enough
for the wick. Repeat on the second side.
8. Heat up a quantity of the left-over waxes. Leave to cool until semi-liquid. Spoon a small amount onto the one central wax layer,
and clamp the two pieces together, with the wick in place.
9. "Glue" the other layers together too, to form the candle, as shown in the picture.
10. Heat up a large old pan on the stovetop. Hold the candle firmly and horizontally with both hands. Slide it around in the hot pan, smoothing the rough sides only. Trim the wick at the base. Neaten the base in the hot pan.
Neaten the top with a hot iron, knife or spatula.
How to Make Hand Rolled Beeswax Candles
Sheets of bees wax with genuine honeycomb textures make eye-catching candles. These come in their natural shades of golden-brown, or in a variety of bright colors or subtle pastels, (see the beexwax candle making kit on the right).
Beeswax sheets roll up easily, due to their
natural softness and stickiness. Working in chilly conditions? Warm the sheet gently with a hairdryer first.
Rolling beeswax sheets by hand: place a primed wick near the end of
the wax sheet. Roll the edge over and around the wick. Continue rolling up the wax. Gently press the end of the sheet
into the rest of the candle, to make it stick.
Excellent for children's candle making, as there's no hot liquid wax
to worry about.
Form a Pillar Candle by Hand from Moldable Wax
Shape a cone, a square, or a cylinder from these super-soft mouldable waxes, (such as dip-and-carve wax). Stick a wicking needle through the candle for the wick hole.
Thread a primed wick through the hole. Instant candle, without a mould!
Produce your own stunning marbled pillars, by moulding and pressing two or more colours together.
