Cinnamon and Orange Candle

Usually I try to make things from stuff I already have lying around, but decent candle wax is not something I can improvise! This is a fairly straight forward project and probably one of the tidiest that I will ever do. These are perfect for gifting, but if you are like me then you will want to keep some for yourself too.

Soy Wax

Unfortunately, good quality candle wax is not something I happen to have just lying around, but luckily it turns out you can get 1kg of unscented soy wax flakes for less than £10. Since that will get me around 10 candles and a weekend of fun, I think that is pretty good value. Generally, candles are made from either paraffin wax or soy wax. So why did I choose soy wax as my starting base? Paraffin wax is derived from fossil fuels and has a sooty burn. Soy wax is derived from soybeans and burns cleanly. It seemed like a no-brainer to me.

Fragrance

I have used essential oils to fragrance my candles simply because that is what I have in my house. You can buy specific candle fragrances if you like, but I have a lot more uses for pure essential oils so it is just a matter of versatility with me. Fragrance oils formulated for candle making will be more powerful than essential oils so in theory you can use less of them to get the same impact. I have not personally used fragrance oils so I cannot advise on their use, but any essential oil stated as 'aromatherapy grade' should work well with this project.

Try to use fairly potent essential oils - there is a limit to how much scented oil the wax will accept, so more subtle scents might not come through. If you want a floral candle, try scents such as lavender or geranium (my sister's favourite). It might sound like the recipe calls for a lot of essential oil (and you would be right) but it is entirely necessary. If you use less, then the candle may smell if you stick your face in it, but will not fragrance the room when lit. In my opinion, if you use less fragrance than stated then it may as well not be there at all and you have effectively just wasted some beautiful but undetectable essential oils. If you are bothering to put something as wonderful as essential oils into a project, then you may as well do it properly and have a fabulous end result.

The wax I bought has a stated maximum fragrance load of 8%, but I'm taking that as more of a guideline than a rule, as my candle has a fragrance load of 9.1%. In this recipe, 10% of the soy wax mass is calculated to determine the amount of oil used. That means that in a candle of 100g, 90.9g will be the soy wax base and 9.1g will be oil. This is pushing right up against the limits of what the wax can handle, but my result was a well fragranced candle with no blemishes and a smooth surface texture so I am standing by it.

What you need

A container - I recommend using fairly small containers as they seem to set well with a smooth finish. I used 100ml aluminium tins with a diameter of 8.5cm and depth of about 3cm. Although these are pretty shallow, they have a burn time of about 18 hours. Usually, candle containers need to be heated before the wax is poured to make sure they do not cool too quickly, but because these tins are such thin metal they took on the heat of the wax instantly and did not seem to affect the cooling process. I got a smooth, even finish when my candles cooled.

Candle wicks - If you do not want to make your own wick, you can buy pre-made, pre-cut wicks ready to use. But if you are only planning for this to be a one off project and don't see the point of getting pre-prepared wicks, I completely get it. After a bit of trial and error, I found that it is actually entirely possible to improvise a wick from things I had lying around with some creativity and a small amount of effort.

(If you are using a wide container like me, think about having multiple wicks to ensure the wax burns evenly. Just a single wick in the middle might result in having a big ring of unmelted wax around the edge once the wick has burned down, which is just a bit of a waste really.)

200g Soy wax flakes - Soy wax has a fairly low melting point so this will melt quickly and evenly. It takes on fragrance well and pours nicely.

Fragrance - I used 10g Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil and 10g Sweet Orange Essential Oil, partly because I am making these as Christmas gifts and partly because it just smells incredible.

Ball of cotton twine string - This will be the substance of the candle wick and should be around 2mm thick, definitely no thinner than 1mm.

Something small and metallic to weight - Feel free to improvise. These could be found anywhere, such as in your desk drawer, the toolbox or sewing basket. Items such as safety pins, paperclips or small metal items left over from your latest IKEA construction project will probably do the job.

Skewers or a clothes peg - These are needed to support the wick as the candle wax cools so that it remains upright. Either balance the wick between the skewers, or clip the wick with a clothes peg and rest it on the edge of the tin.

Saucepan (preferably with a pouring spout)

Craft blade or scissors - This will be needed to cut cleanly through the string even after it has been coated in wax. Make sure you use something sharp to avoid frayed edges.

Method

1) Start by cutting the string for the wick. Allow for at least an inch longer than the height of the container, then double it and add another inch. You will be dipping two wicks together with a join in the middle so that you can hang them to dry (as shown in the picture for step 4). Rig up a simple drying rack from skewers placed over a bowl, making sure the bowl is deep enough that the wick can hang freely without touching the edges.

2) Weigh the wax you intend to use. I used 200g wax which made 2 candles. Add this to a saucepan and melt it slowly on the hob. Use a low heat and do not rush.

3) Once the wax is completely melted, add the oils and stir the mixture for several minutes to fully incorporate the fragrance.

4) Hold your cut string from the middle and dunk the cut ends through the wax so that they are well coated. Carefully separate the ends if they stick together and hang them to dry. This will only take a few minutes. When cool and hard, separate the string into two wicks by lopping off the undipped middle section.

5) Track down a suitable weight for the bottom of the wick. Really, this could be anything small, metal and able to attach to the dipped string. Since jewellery making is one of my hobbies, I have an array of jewellery fittings available to me. I used blank stud earrings because the butterfly backing gripped the wick really well. You can probably find other items that work just as well in your desk drawer, toolbox or sewing basket, such as paperclips, safety pins and left over IKEA bits and bobs.

6) Apply a small amount of wax to secure the weight to the base of the container and wait a few minutes for it to set in place. Arrange skewers to support the wick so that they stand upright. Ensure you have the container set up on a surface that you can leave the candles to completely cool on as they will be very difficult to move once you have poured the wax.

7) Take the wax off the heat and pour the warm wax in a constant, steady stream. Take care not to pour directly on to the wick base or you may dislodge them. The wax holding the wick will melt, but the wick should mostly stay put with the help of the skewers. Adjust the skewers to support the wick so that the candle will set with the wick in a upright position. Leave the candle at room temperature to cool in its own time.

8) Make sure the candle has completely cooled, preferably overnight, before touching the candle and removing the skewer supports. Now you can trim the wicks back to around 1cm and either light your candle, or gift it to a loved one.