Pillar candles are elegant and decorative so it’s no wonder that one of the first things new candle makers ask for instructions on is how to make pillar candles. These candles are round and tall and can be any width and height you want. Often times they are decorating with decorations stuck in the wax and they often have great texture like ridges or different colors throughout the candle.

Making pillar candles isn’t that hard and if you have any experience in making candles you should have no trouble. First you need to go out to your craft store and buy some molds for the candles. Just as there are different sized candles, so there are molds. You can find molds that are aluminum, plastic, or even silicon. Aluminum are usually preferred as they allow easier cooling and a smoother finish.

If you want to learn how to make pillar candles, you might want to buy a book which will help you gague how much wax you will need for your size molds. Aside from the wax, you will also need, a double burner, a thermometer, dye and fragrance oils. A wick is important for pillar candles and you might consider a wide wick which will give you a larger flame. You can actually make a wider wick by buying that standard wick - cutting 3 pieces to the length you need for your pillar and braiding them together.

When placing the wick in the holder be sure that you dip it in the wax that you have melting on the burner first, the center it in the mold - most molds have a slot for this. In order to keep it centered, you should tie the top of the wick to a stick and then just lay that to rest across the top of them mold. Of course, in order to do this, you’ll have to cut the wick a lot longer than you want, but you can always trim it after.

When the wax is properly melted, add in the color and fragrance. You’ll want to add then slowly so as not to add too much. Then pour the whole thing into your pillar mold leaving a 4 inch gap at the top

Once you notice your pillar candles have hardened on the top, you need to make some holes in the candle so that air pockets do not form. Poke down through the top of the candle into the center which will not be hardened yet). Then once the candle is completely cooled, you need to pour more melted wax down into the holes you made - this wax must be 15 degrees hotter than the original wax you poured in in order to work properly. Eventually it will all melt together into one big pillar.

Remove the candles from the mold and trim the wick.

Learning how to make pillar candles is not much harder than any other type of candle but you do have the added task of putting in the relief holes and then filling them in once the candle has cooled so it does take more time and a bit more patience, the outcome, however can be well worth it!