If you’re so obsessed with candle making like me, you must have wondered whether it’s possible to make candle wicks at home. So many all-in-one candle making kits have made candle making an easy-to-get-started technique that everyone can handle. We are therefore so eager to explore more areas that we can have a touch and control over.
Then we find candle wicks. The wick plays an important role, maybe the determining role, in judging the performance of a candle. Once the candle is lit, the wick pulls the melted wax up to fuel the flame. Without a proper wick, your candle may suffer problems like tunneling, flickering, smoking, mushrooming, or others.
To be honest, DIY candle wicks aren’t a challenging task, as long as you have some candle making experience. You can go ahead to make cotton wicks just from household supplies, like a 100% cotton string or an old cotton T-shirt.
In addition to showing you how to make candle wicks at home, the starting point of writing this tutorial is to let you know more important factors when making or choosing candle wicks.
Let’s dive into details.
Types of Candle Wicks
Candle wicks can be made with different materials. Natural fibers, like cotton, linen, hemp, jute, wood, and metal materials, like zinc and tin, are all great for candle wicks. But among them, cotton wicks are the most traditional and most widely used wicks for tallow and wax candles.
Cotton Wicks
Cotton fiber can be made into four different constructions: flat braid, square braid, cotton core, and twisted. Briefly, braided wicks last longer than twisted wicks. The most common braided wicks are flat wicks, which are tightly braided from three cotton strings. They can also self-trim while burning. Square wicks are thicker than flat ones, so they are mainly used for harder candle waxes, such as making beeswax candles.
Wooden Wicks
Wooden wicks are strips of wood used in candle making. They are usually made from balsa, cherry, birch, oak, maple, and some other trees. There are three types of wooden wicks: single-ply, booster, and spiral, depending on the strip structures. Different wooden wick types work well with different types of wax.
Read more: Wood Wick Guide: Best Wood Wicks for Candle Making
Metal Wicks
Another candle wick type is made with metal, such as tin or zinc. Unlike cotton wicks and wooden wicks, metal wicks are less commonly used. However, if you’re making gel wax candles, it’s better to use zinc wicks as gel wax has a higher melting point.
As the last type of wick is difficult to hand-made at home, we’ll only focus on cotton wicks and wooden wicks in this tutorial.
Cotton Wicks vs. Wooden Wicks
Technically, both cotton wicks and wooden wicks burn themselves to produce heat to melt the wax. Both are good and popular in candle making.
However, there are some differences if you have to make choices between them.
- Wooden wicks can produce more heat with a smaller flame.
- Candles with wooden wicks usually have a better scent throw.
- Wooden wicks burn slower than cotton wicks.
- There are more types of cotton wicks available if you’re making candles in varied sizes.
- Cotton wicks are easier to maintain.
- Cotton wicks are easier to light.
- Candles with cotton wicks are cheaper.
What to Consider When Making Candle Wicks at Home?
Before starting to make candle wicks at home, there are still some factors to consider.
Candle Type
Generally, the larger the candle, the thicker the wick should be. To be more specific:
If you’re making tealights, votives, taper candles, or tall but thin pillar candles, single-strand or twisted cotton wicks are good enough.
If you’re making container candles or pillars with larger diameters, three or four strands of twine or braided cotton wicks should be used.
If you’re making container candles with a diameter larger than 3.5 inches, you’ll need two wicks or more.
If you’re making hand-dipped candles, such as beeswax birthday candles, there’s no need to wait for the wick to dry completely.
Thickness
The thickness of your handmade candle wicks is also determined by the candle types you plan to make, as well as the size of each candle. Small candles work well with even single-strand wicks, while medium candles need flat or square braided wicks.
Length
You need to measure the height of your candle jar or candle mold before making DIY candle wicks. That’s because you’ll cut the wicks, or twine, to the length that fits your candles well. Usually, it’s recommended to cut the wick to be three inches longer than the height of your jar or mold. If the twine needs to be braided, it’s better to leave it four inches longer.
Read more: Wick Guide: How to Choose the Right Wick Size with Chart
Wax Type
Though most candle waxes burn well with different wick types, whether they are made with cotton or wood, or different wick series (ECO, LX, CD, etc.), some are picky, too. For example, for the beeswax, we usually recommend the cotton wicks ECO series. But for the most popular soy wax candles, you can try nearly any type of wicks.
Plan Ahead
Since you’ll need to wait for the wicks to be dipped and dried, maybe several times, it’s best to plan earlier and leave at least half a day of spare time. What’s more, it’s recommended to make lots of wicks in different sizes at a time. In this way, you’ll have ready-to-use wicks when you’re making various candles at home.
How to Make Cotton Wicks at Home?
Though you can easily buy cotton wicks in various sizes from stores, it’s also fun to experience a greater degree of control over the candle making process. Making handmade cotton wicks is simple. Now, let’s get started.
What You’ll Need to Make Cotton Wicks?
- Undyed cotton twine
- Scissors
- Pliers
- Whichever type of wax, soy wax, beeswax, or paraffin
- A double boiler. You can make it with a saucepan and a wax melting pot or pitcher.
- Metal wick tabs to hold the cotton wicks. Not a must. But if you make container candles, you’ll need them.
- Clothespins for hanging wicks to dry
- A bowl (optional)
- Salt (optional)
- Borax (optional)
- Vegetable oil (optional)
Instructions to Make Cotton Wicks
In this instruction, we’ll show you how to make cotton wicks with borax. That’s because borax-treated wicks can burn brighter, cleaner, and longer. However, there’s no problem skipping steps 3-8 if you want to make cotton wicks without borax.
Step 1: Cut three strips of cotton twine to the length of your candle plus 4 inches. If you don’t braid it, only 3 inches longer is enough.
Step 2: Braid the twine.
Step 3: Fill the saucepan with about 1/2 full of water and heat it on the stovetop.
Step 4: When the water reaches a simmer, add salt (1 Tbsp) and borax (3 Tbsp) to the boiling water. Stir to let them dissolve in the water fully.
Step 5: Pour the mixture into the bowl.
Step 6: Soak the twine in the mixture overnight.
Step 7: Remove the twine from the borax mixture with a pair of pliers.
Step 8: Hang the wet twine up with a clothespin. Be sure it’s up straight. Allow it to dry completely for one day or more.
Step 9: Melt some wax in the double boiler. Read 4 methods to melt wax for candle making.
Step 10: Dip the twine in the melted wax to coat as much wax as possible.
Step 11: Hang the twine up again to let it dry.
Step 12: Dip and dry the twine again if you want a thick coating of wax. Usually, twice or three times is enough.
Step 13: When the twine is dry (no oily residue on your fingers when touched), you can attach it to the metal wick tab.
Now, you have a handmade cotton wick.
Other Methods to Make Cotton Wicks
Besides treating cotton twine with borax and wax, you can also soak the twine in vegetable oil or salt directly, even plain cotton string works great as candle wicks. However, vegetable oil, like olive oil, is very easy to catch fire. The wax coating can help the wick burn evenly and steadily. So, it is recommended.
How to Make Wooden Wicks by Hand?
Making wooden wicks is trickier than making cotton wicks. You need to find suitable wooden strips or sticks for wicks.
What You’ll Need to Make Wooden Wicks?
- Balsa wood strips or sticks, or other light wood. You can easily find them in craft stores.
- Scissors
- Vegetable oils like olive oil, sunflower oils, etc.
- The plate, longer than the length of the wooden wicks.
- Metal wick clips or tabs, depending on the shape of the wicks
- Paper towels
- Plier
Instructions to Make Wooden Wicks
Step 1: Cut the balsa wood strips to the length of your candle plus 1 inch.
Step 2: Pour some olive oil into the plate. You don’t have to fill it full. Just make sure the wooden wicks can be covered in the oil.
Step 3: Soak the wicks in the oil for about one hour or two. Be sure the wicks can absorb enough oil.
Step 4: Remove the wicks with a pair of pliers and put them on paper towels. You needn’t wipe the oil off the wicks. Just let them dry naturally.
Step 5: Attach the wooden wicks to the clips or tabs.
Done.
Now you can start making your candles with handmade wicks.
Last but not least, do burning tests.
You need to test the performance of your handmade wicks, as well as your candle recipes. Doing a burning test requires time and patience, but it’s a must, especially if you want to sell your handmade candles.
FAQ
Q: What can I use to make candle wicks?
There are plenty of materials you can use to make candle wicks. Just name a few: 100% cotton strings, a piece of cotton cloth, a shoelace without the plastic cap, yarn, linen, jute, hemp, thin wood, zinc, tin, etc. But don’t use wool for wicks.
Q: Can I make candle wicks from cotton balls? And how?
Yes, you can make candle wicks from cotton balls. You can follow the instructions below.
- Convert cotton balls to strings by brushing. You’ll find the cotton thread becomes longer and longer. If not enough, add more cotton balls.
- Trim the cotton thread to the length you’ll need.
- Soak the cotton thread in melted wax.
- Let it dry.
You can also soak the cotton thread in vegetable oil, as mentioned above.
Q: How to make candle wicks with yarn?
You need to cut the yarn into 3 pieces. Each one should be the length of your candle plus at least 4 inches. Then, put them together and make a knot on one end. Next, braid the 3 pieces together. At last, secure the other end of the braided yarn to the wick tab.
Q: What can I use as substitutes for candle wicks?
For homemade fiber wicks, you can use tightly rolled-up tissue paper, paper towels, cardboard strips, and more. For homemade wooden wicks, you can try toothpicks, chopsticks, and popsicle sticks, which are all made of wood.
