The Midnight Oil Pillar Candle

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  Step 1

  How to make Pillar and moulded candles:

  Both pillar and moulded candles are freestanding candles that are made in moulds (metal, polycarbonate, plastic, rubber or silicone, or sand) using either beeswax or a special soya pillar wax. As the first inch (2.5cm) of a pillar candle burns down, a wall of wax should occur around the sides of the candle, this wall keeps the liquid wax contained.

  As well as beeswax, soya pillar blend wax can be used to make pillar moulds as long as the diameter of the soya pillar is minimum of 2½–3in (6.5–7.5cm) so that the wall can occur during burning to prevent wax leakage. If you are using beeswax, spray your mould with silicone mould release or coat it with vegetable oil to make unmoulding easier.

  Take a primed wick and feed the wick through the holes in the mould.

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  Step 2

  Seal with mould seal, modelling clay or Blu-Tack to prevent any liquid wax from escaping.

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  Step 3

  Place the other end of the wick between the two sticks of the wick sustainer and pull gently so that the wick is taut and centrally positioned 
in the mould (otherwise the candle will burn unevenly). If you do not have wick sustainers you could tie the end of a wick to a skewer or chopstick – you will need to cut a slightly longer piece of wick to allow for this.

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  Step 4

  Melt, colour and fragrance the soya pillar wax or beeswax and pour at the correct temperature (see page 36), keeping some wax back for the second pour. Leave the candle to set for a short while. You may notice that as it sets a small dip or holes appear in the top of the candle.

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  Step 5

  If this occurs, reheat the saved wax and pour into any holes or dips (if necessary you can use a cocktail stick to enlarge small holes to ensure they are completely filled with new wax). Do not pour over the original height of the wax.

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  Step 6

  Leave the candle to set until completely cold. Remove the mould seal and the wick sustainer and the candle should easily come away from the mould. Leave to set and ‘cure’ for 48 hours before burning.

  Decorating candles
  You can, of course, leave your candles plain and simple, but it can sometimes be fun to decorate the outside of them for an extra special effect. Over the next few pages, we show you ways of decorating and enhancing the exterior of your candle with cut-out wax shapes and transfers, by giving it a shimmering effect with overdips and pearlizers or by stencilling a pattern.

  Leave the candle to set until completely cold. Remove the mould seal and the wick sustainer and the candle should easily come away from the mould. Leave to set and ‘cure’ for 48 hours before burning.

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  Step 7

  Decorating candles
  You can, of course, leave your candles plain and simple, but it can sometimes be fun to decorate the outside of them for an extra special effect. Over the next few pages, we show you ways of decorating and enhancing the exterior of your candle with cut-out wax shapes and transfers, by giving it a shimmering effect with overdips and pearlizers or by stencilling a pattern.

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  Step 8

  Appliqué

  Appliqué wax sheets are available in a multitude of colours and metallics from which you can cut your own decorative shapes using little sugarcraft cutters to then affix to your candle.

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  Step 9

  To cut out a shape, gently press a small cutter into the wax as if you are cutting a little cookie. You can also purchase ready-cut appliqué wax shapes or you can cut shapes from the appliqué wax with a knife. Warm the shape with your hands and press directly onto the candle. Alternatively, place a dab of wax glue on the shape and affix to your candle.

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