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Candle Pixie > Making Pillar Candles
Making Pillar Candles
If you would like to make a candle that reminds you of the old style candles, perhaps something like the ones from the Victorian times or the times of medieval knights and fair ladies, you could try making pillar candles. You can experiment with different sizes and shapes in order to get the pillar candle that suits you. Here are some basic instructions for making pillar candles.
1. Wicking your pillar candle mold Thread the wick through the bottom of the mold, pull it through the other side and tie it to a wick holder (rod or a pencil). Pull the tension in the wick tight enough that there’s no slack and plug the hole with a mold sealer. Or you can tie a knot at the one end of the wick, thread it through a metal washer, then through a rubber gasket and then through the wick hole in the bottom of the mold. Then you can take a metal jiffy wicker bar and thread the wick through it, and draw the wick into the notch.
2. Melting your pillar candle wax You need a molding candle wax that you will melt in a double boiler. You can take a steamer pot or old sauce pan and a melting pot with pour spout. Check the melting point of the wax you have purchased, because candle wax melting point and flashpoint can vary by manufacturer and batch. When you reach that temperature, the wax will slowly become entirely liquid. You should cook it up to 190 degrees F and it is done.
3. Adding dye and fragrance If you want to have a colored pillar candle, this is when you mix the dye into the wax. And if you want to add a scent, you should do it right before you pouring the wax, so as not to expose it to the heat too much (the heat may reduce the strength of the scent). So, add the fragrance, stir it thoroughly and prepare yourself for the next step.
4. Pouring the wax into the pillar candle mold You may pour the wax at 180 - 190° F, but it's no problem if it cools a bit, and some even prefer to pour the melted wax at 175 degrees F. Pour the wax out of the spouted container to half an inch from the top of the mold. Don't forget that you have to save some wax for the second pour because the wax will shrink a bit when it cools.
5. Make relief holes When a thick skin of wax forms over the surface of your candle, you need to poke one or more relief holes in the candle in order for the wax not to distort the shape of the candle or make air bubbles while it is cooling and shrinking. Take a wood stirring stick, chopstick or a skewer and make the holes near the wick and about an inch from the base of the candle. Your relief holes will continue to shrink as the wax is hardening, and you need to poke through them during the cooling process so that the air takes the place of the shrinking wax.
6. Second pour After your pillar candle has cooled to room temperature, you need to heat the wax you saved from the first pour and get it to about 5 to 10 degrees F hotter than the temperature of your first pour wax. Fill the relief holes and the indentations up to a level just below that of the first pour and then leave the candle to cool completely.
7. Removing your pillar candle from the mold After a few hours, or the day after, when the mold is cool as well, it's time to remove your pillar candle from the mold. The candle will probably already be separated a bit from the edges of the mold. Release the wick, turn the mold upside down and gently tug on the wick at the top of the candle. If you should have any trouble with this, try putting your pillar candles in the freezer for 15 minutes and then try again.
8. Trim the wick Now cut off the wick at the bottom of your pillar candle and trim the one at the top to about ?!?!. Burn them on a flat holder, you don't need a glass holder.
Now you have your own pillar candle, and it is probably of a better quality than the one bought in stores, and of the shape, color and fragrance of your choice! Try experimenting with other molds and make your pillar candles in different shapes, perhaps stars, hearts, triangles...
Keep up the good work and enjoy making and burning (or giving away) your pillar candles!