Making Hand Dipped Candles


Hand dipped candles or tapered candles is easy and fun to make. They were the first candles to be used for providing daily lighting. Of course we no longer have to use tallow and reeds with the advent of paraffin and wicks. So, let's get started and gather our materials.


Materials:


1/2 pound paraffin wax
Double Boiler, turkey roaster or even a can inserted in a pot of water. (Always remember to never melt your wax over direct heat due to it posing a severe fire hazard)
Wooden Spoon
Bowls for cold water bath
Candle or Candy thermometer
Wick - wick size depends on your candle size proportionally. Wick size increases by 1/2". As a reference, candle size is equal to wick size. (1" candle to 1" wick,e.g.)
Color - you may use various methods of adding color to you hand dipped candles. Chips, liquid or flakes.
Scents- use your favorite candle making scents.


1. Start by breaking your wax into small pieces with a hammer or chisel

2. Heat up your double boiler or wax heating method. Never use high heat and monitor your temperature constantly. Keep wax away from open flame.

3. Stir your wax with the wooden spoon until it is completely melted and reaches a temperature of 160 deg F or 71 deg C. Maintain water hot enough to keep temperature.

4. Slowly add your color until you reach the desired shade. Remember that your color will get a shade lighter as the wax cools. You can test this by taking a small amount out and letting it solidify on some newspaper or wax paper.

5. Add your desired scent. The more oil you use the stronger the scent, but adding too much oil can affect how your candle burns.

6. Recheck your wax temperature and maintain it at a rate of 160 F or 71 C

7. Start to cut your wicks to their desired candle length with a few inches extra to allow for holding them as you dip. Remember you will be making 2 hand dipped candles at once, that is part of the beauty of making hand dipped candles. If you are making 10 inch candles then you would cut your wick at about 23 inches Double the wick over your finger or the handle of your wooden spoon at the center of the wick. Now it's time to start dipping. Dip the wick in the wax for a few seconds and lift it back out. Let the wax cool for a minute. Your wick may want to float on top of the melted wax until it gets weighted down, that will stop once some wax adheres to the wicks. If your wicks initially are not straight you can use pliers to pull them to a straightened form. Prevent the wet candles from touching each other.

8. Keep dipping and cooling your candles. Once you have some wax built up on your wicks you can speed up the process by alternating dipping them in the wax and bowls of water. Once you have reached your proper thickness, check for any lumps and straightness of the candles. You can roll the warm candles on a flat smooth surface to correct any imperfections.

9. One final time dip you candles in the wax and let cool.

10. Trim the bottom of the candles with a sharp knife of any excess wax and to make a flattened bottom.

11. Hang your new candles to dry and once they are dry cut the wick in the middle. Trim each candles wick to about 1/2 inch.

Now you can find your favorite candleholder and enjoy your latest creations!