How to make taper candles is a common question, especially around the holidays when candles often decorate dinner tables. You can make your own using pure beeswax, and the process is relatively simple. Yellow beeswax naturally has a subtle honey scent when burned, so you don’t need to add essential oils.

How to Make Taper Candles from Beeswax

Supplies Needed

· Beeswax pellets
· Thermometer to test the wax temperature
· Cotton braided candle wick thread
· Tall, wide-mouthed heat-tolerant containers, such as a canning jar or a candle wax melting metal container with a handle
· Additional jar or container to fill with cold water for dipping candles in after dipping in wax
· A large pot for heating the water and wax (one reserved for candle making would be ideal)
· 2 weights, such as a metal bolt, to keep your wick/candle straight while dipping
· Water, as needed
· You’ll want to use a heat-tolerant container that is tall enough to melt enough wax for the height of the taper candle you desire to make. Example: A quart mason jar will make a small 6” or so taper candle.
· Hanger to dry the candles on or another rack for cooling the candles.

Directions

1. Line your workspace with newspaper or paper towels to catch any spillover.

2. Use a medium or large-sized saucepan to fill about half full of water. In the saucepan, add your heat-safe glass jar or other heat-safe container for melting wax. Fill the container with wax and warm the pot to a simmer to melt the wax. Once the wax has melted somewhat and made room for more wax, add more wax until you have melted enough for the height of the candle you’d like to make. Be sure to check the instructions for the wax to learn what temperature the wax should be heated to before pouring – this tends to vary by brand.

3. Once the wax has melted, remove it from the pot and place it on the protected workspace.

4. Cut a 24” piece of wick thread and tie weights to each end of the string. This will allow you to dip your candles at the same time while keeping them straight. Dip the wick slowly and evenly

5. Once you’ve dipped into the wax, dip it into the alternate container of cold water.

6. Repeat dipping into the wax and then the cold water until you’ve reached the ideal height and width of your candle.

7. Once you’re finished dipping and once the wax has cooled a bit but is still warm, snip the weights off the end of the candles and mold the base into a flat bottom.

8. Hang your candles on a hanger/rack to dry completely.

9. Before burning your candle, trim the wick down to 1/4-inch.

How to Make Taper Candles for Birthdays

For birthday candles, use a smaller heat-safe container, such as a glass measuring cup, and follow the same dipping process with a shorter piece of wick. Dip until the candles reach the desired size. Allow them to cool completely before use, and discard them when they become too short to burn safely.

Taper Candle Safety Tips

Never burn taper candles unattended or on unstable surfaces. Keep out of reach of children and pets. Be extremely cautious when handling hot wax. There is a taper candle adhesive that can be applied to the base of the candles as an extra level of caution when placing them into the candle holders that will help hold them in place.

This story about how to make taper candles was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.