How to make beeswax or paraffin candles

Candles have been lighting homes with a soft, romantic glow for many centuries. Just a few simple materials and tools are required to make your own handsome candles. These steps will get you started.

In the days before oil lamps or electric lighting, the production of candles for commercial use was a major industry, and high-quality candles, made from beeswax or sperm whale blubber, commanded high prices.Those who could not afford to buy candles made their own, usually from the fat saved after cooking. Melted fat was poured into molds and left to set overnight, or a wick was simply floated in a bowl of fat. The results were less than perfect: the candles burned too rapidly, buckled in warm weather and gave off fumes and smoke.

By the 1850s, the advent of oil lamps meant that candle-making was no longer such an important activity. Today, the process is still carried out on a small scale as an enjoyable home craft using a range of simple techniques and household items.

Beeswax sheets can be bought in their natural state, bleached or stained various colours. Making candles using this type of wax is very straightforward as it involves no heating or pouring of wax, it is simple and safe enough for children to do.

1. Cut a length of wick slightly longer than the length of the beeswax sheet and position the wick close to the edge of the sheet.
2. Fold over a strip two to three millimetres (1/8 of an inch) wide along the wick edge of the sheet, encasing the wick, and press the edge down firmly.
3. Roll the beeswax sheet evenly around the encased wick until a cylindrical candle is formed. Candles of different sizes can be made by cutting the sheet in halves or thirds.
4. Roll two or more sheets together to form a candle with a wider diameter.

Paraffin comes in five grades, the hardest of which is sold in craft shops for candle-making.

• For firmer, brighter-burning candles, add 45 millilitres (three tablespoons) of powdered stearin — also available from craft shops — to every 450 grams (one pound) of paraffin.
• The safest way to melt paraffin wax is to use a double boiler over a low, even temperature to ensure that the wax does not become dangerously overheated and catch fire. To be on the safe side, it is a good idea to keep the temperature under 100°C (212°F).
• Cotton and paper-core wicks are the two most common types. You should choose a wick that matches the thickness of a candle. If a wick is too thick, it will smoke; if it is too thin, the melted wax will eventually extinguish the flame.
• Thin wicks are suitable only for tapers, medium wicks are good for candles up to about six centimetres (2 1/2 inches) in diameter and thick wicks suit candles six to nine centimetres (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches) in diameter.
• The wick should be approximately five centimetres (two inches) longer than the candle.

Follow these basic guidelines to continue this age-old craft.