Scent Almanac
Layered color candle
A jar candle poured in colored bands, straight or tilted. The trick is pouring each layer while the one below is firm but still warm.
- Difficulty
- ●●○
- Time
- active 2 h · cure 1–2 weeks
Safety first
- Never leave melting wax unattended, not even for a minute. Keep children and pets out of the work area.
- Melt wax in a pouring pitcher set in a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Never put a pitcher or pan of wax on direct heat.
- Use a candle or candy thermometer the whole time and stay inside the wax supplier's temperature range. Overheated wax smokes, discolors and can reach its flash point.
- If wax catches fire: turn off the heat and smother it with a metal lid or a thick layer of baking soda. NEVER use water, which flashes to steam and throws burning wax. Keep a lid and a class B or ABC extinguisher within reach.
- Wear closed shoes and keep a bowl of cool water nearby for splashes on skin. Hot wax sticks and keeps burning, so cool a burn under running water for 20 minutes.
- Handle fragrance oils with gloves and ventilate the room while they're hot.
- Put warning labels on any candle you give away: burn within sight, keep away from children, pets, drafts and anything flammable, trim the wick to 1/4 in (6 mm) before each burn, burn no more than 4 hours at a time, and stop when 1/2 in (13 mm) of wax is left.
- Use candle dye only. Crayons contain pigments that clog wicks and can make the candle burn poorly or soot.
Steps
- Weigh your wax and fragrance using the calculator results. Cover your work surface with paper or a silicone mat.
- Pre-warm clean, dry jars until they're warm to the touch, about 100–120°F (38–49°C).
- Secure a wick in the center of each jar and hold it straight with a wick bar. With several pours, the wick is easily knocked off-center, so check it after every layer.
- Melt the first layer's wax in the double boiler. Heat to 185°F (85°C), add the fragrance and dye, and stir for a full 2 minutes. Keep the fragrance percentage the same in every layer.
- Let the wax cool toward the cool end of its 120–140°F (49–60°C) pour range. Pour the first layer. For tilted layers, rest the jar at an angle in a muffin tin or a folded towel.
- Wait until the layer has a firm skin that you can press lightly without breaking, but still feels warm (usually 20–40 minutes). Too soft and the colors bleed; too cold and the layers separate.
- Melt, scent and color the next layer, and pour it at about 125–130°F (52–54°C). Repeat for each layer, standing the jar upright for the final layer so the top is level.
- Let the finished candles cool for 24 hours at room temperature, then smooth the top with a heat gun and trim wicks to 1/4 in (6 mm).
- Cure with lids on for 1–2 weeks.
- Test-burn one candle before making more or giving any away. Burn it 1 hour per inch of diameter (up to 4 hours) and check that the melt pool reaches the edge without soot or a flame taller than about 1 in (2.5 cm). Adjust the wick size and repeat.
Wax15.9 oz
451 g · 15.9 oz
Fragrance oil1.3 oz
36 g · 1.3 oz
Total pour17.2 oz
8.6 oz each
Starting wickECO 6–8
Test burn 3 h, then check the melt pool.
- Melt to
- 119–127°F (48–53°C) or a little above
- Add fragrance at
- 185°F (85°C), then stir gently for 2 minutes
- Pour at
- 120–140°F (49–60°C)
- Cure
- 7–14 days before judging the scent throw
Melt about 10% more wax than the total. Some always stays in the pitcher.
If something goes wrong
- Layers separate or show gaps
- The layer below was too cold. Pour the next layer sooner or a few degrees hotter, or lightly score the set surface with a fork before pouring.
- Colors bleed into each other
- The layer below was too soft or the new layer too hot. Wait for a firmer skin and pour at the cool end of the range.
- Wick drifted off-center
- Re-center it with the wick bar after every pour. A leaning wick causes uneven burning and hot glass.
- Frosting (white crystals on top or sides)
- Natural in soy and vegetable waxes and harmless. Reduce it by pouring at the cooler end of the range, cooling slowly away from drafts, and storing at a steady room temperature.
- Wet spots (patches where the wax pulled away from the glass)
- Pre-warm clean, dry jars before pouring and let them cool slowly at room temperature, not in the fridge or a cold draft. They're cosmetic only. A heat gun on the outside of the glass can reseat small ones.