Want a cozy hobby that ends with something beautiful on your table? Candle making at home fits the bill, and fall is the perfect season to start.
You melt wax, add a wick, and pour or dip. A few days later, you have gifts that look like they came from a boutique.
It is catching on, too. Pinterest reports that searches for candle making tutorials rose 118% in its 2026 Hobbies Trend Report.
Here is how to make two classics, soy candles in tins and beeswax tapers, with tips from three expert teachers.
Candle making starts with a simple soy tin
Your first candle needs only a pound of wax and a little patience.
The team at CandleScience uses soy wax, 8 ounce tins, cotton wicks, a digital scale, a pouring pitcher and a thermometer.
Weigh everything. Their guide explains, “It’s necessary to measure your wax and fragrance by weight and not volume.”
Melt the wax in a double boiler until it reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit. They call that temperature “the Goldilocks zone,” because the fragrance binds well without burning off.
Stir in one ounce of fragrance oil for a 6% fragrance load. Let the wax cool to 135 degrees, and then pour slowly and center the wick.
Here is the hard part. Let the candles cure for at least four to five days, and ideally up to two weeks, so the scent can develop.
The right wick gives you a clean, even burn
A beautiful candle is only half the job, because it also has to burn well.
London, the candle maker behind Particle Goods, teaches a soy class for Bramble Berry. She explains that soy “has what’s called a memory,” so it only melts as far as the last burn.
That is why the first burn matters so much. If the melt pool never reaches the edge, the candle tunnels and wastes wax.
Her rule of thumb is “about one hour per inch in diameter to reach a full melt pool”. A 3 inch jar needs about three hours on its first burn.
Choose glass, ceramic or metal containers. She warns against plastic and against porous materials such as wood or terra cotta.
Then test a few wick sizes in containers filled about halfway. Her motto is simple: “test everything, test it twice and then probably test it again.”
Hand dipped beeswax tapers for the holiday table
Nothing dresses a dinner table like tall, honey colored tapers that you made yourself.
Rajiv Surendra has been dipping beeswax tapers for more than 20 years. He makes about 50 at a time from 8 to 10 pounds of wax.
His first tip is to buy pure beeswax from a local farmers market. Many inexpensive beeswax candles contain only a little beeswax, and the rest is paraffin.
Melt the wax in a tall can set inside a pot of water. Keep it between 140 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and never let it pass 170.
Cut one length of cotton wick for each pair of candles, and tie a small weight to each end. Then dip in “a nice fluid motion” to the same depth every time.
Each dip adds a thin layer. He says the rhythm “becomes meditative”.
Tapers shrink about 10% as they cool. When one fits your holder snugly, he says to “dip it two more times”.
Invite a friend, put on some music and make a pair for every table you will set this season.
If you love slow handwork, needlepoint makes a lovely next project.
Watch: candle making lessons from the pros
CandleScience walks through a complete soy candle in tins, from weighing the wax to curing it. CandleScience sells candle making supplies.
London of Particle Goods covers containers, wicks, testing and troubleshooting. She made the class in partnership with Bramble Berry, which also sells candle supplies.
Rajiv Surendra dips a full batch of beeswax tapers in his barn in Rhode Island and shares his best tips along the way.
