Making Short Taper Candles

Out of all the candles you can make, short taper candles are about the easiest candles to make. You will need a few pieces of equipment but nothing that you will have to spend a bunch of money to get. You can get the proper cans for dipping short candles at a craft store. You will also need a thermometer. A thermometer that is made for candle making usually has a clip on the side so you can clip it onto your container. You will not need as much wax as you would need to make long tapered candles and your container won’t need to be as deep when your making short candles.

When melting any wax make sure you use a double boiler for melting it. This is the safest way to melt wax unless you have a commercial wax pot that has its own thermometer. You will need to purchase wicks made especially for tapered candles. If you don’t choose the proper wick the candle will burn down too quickly.

When your wax is ready, you can start dipping. All that will happen at first is that the wick will get saturated but as you continue dipping and cooling you will see the taper candle forming. Give lots of cooling time before re-dipping your short candle. This will give the candle a better form. Don’t leave your candle in the hot wax very long and be prepared to spend some time at this. It takes a while to dip and cool until the candle gets to the right size.

Allow your candles to dry over night to make sure they have hardened well. You will notice that the bottom of the candle has some excess wax hanging to it. You can fix this by using a hot knife to cut it off and smooth it out. Trim off the wick too about a half an inch from the top of your candle and you are ready to enjoy your handiwork.