Mason jar candles are beautiful and go great with a country theme! We’ll be using mason jars in this recipe , but you can pretty much use any jar or glass as long as the glass isn’t too thin. You’ll want to use jars, or glass that can withstand heat. You’ll need to experiment with the wick size but I’ve listed the wick size below that has worked great for me in soy candles made using 8 and 16oz Square Mason Jars. For in depth wick sizing instructions as well as more recipes and techniques,my book “The Soy Candle Making Book” is a must have.
Soy Mason jar candles are excellent for gifts!
Making mason jar candles with soy wax
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Let’s get to it! I have been making my own soy candles for several years, and I am going to show you how to make mason candles at home with a tried and true recipe that I used when I was selling my soy candles, and that I still use. Keep in mind that there are different types of soy candle waxes and this recipe is meant for the specific wax I mention in the supplies. You can use this recipe with other soy waxes, but the melting and pouring temperatures may vary for best results.
First let’s look at some
Tips for Soy Candle Making Success
Fragrance is key here. You need to make sure you use quality fragrance oils in your soy candles. Dollar store, and even craft store fragrance oils won’t cut it! You need to buy your oils from a candle making supplier. There are quite a few online, and some have store fronts you can go and visit as well. You want to look for oils that give a good fragrance throw in soy wax specifically. Visit our article on Best Fragrance Oils for Soy Candles to learn more.
The other question I hear a lot is whether you can use essential oils when you make soy candles. Yes, you can, but should you? I don’t disagree that there are benefits in aromatherapy, but once the essential oils are burned in a candle, the oil becomes useless, and, in my research, it could also become harmful to breath in. I have tried a few essential oils, but they don’t give off as much fragrance and they are expensive! So my advice is to just use fragrance oils that were meant for candle making.
As I said earlier, if you are using jars other than mason jars for your container candles, please be sure that they are heat safe. You don’t want shattered glass and possible fire! You can find great prices on square mason jars and other types of candle making jars by checking out some wholesale candle making suppliers here
If you don’t have wick stickers that I suggest below, you can use a hot glue gun to attach the wick to the bottom of the jar or glue dots.
Supplies to Make Soy Mason Jar Candles:
- Scale, digital preferred (I love the Escali digital scale. Battery lasts forever!)
- Candy thermometer
- High temp resistant Rubber Spatula for stirring and scraping wax out when pouring.
- Metal pour pot
- Metal cooking pot
- 1 lb Soy Container wax (I use 100% Midwest Soy Container Wax with this recipe)
- 1 oz candle Fragrance Oil
- Candle wax dye
- Two 8oz square Mason Jars or other canning type jars
- 2 Candle wicks for soy wax such as HTP 105 or CD-18
- Wick Stickers to stick the wicks to the bottom of the jars
- 2 long chip clips to keep the wick centered in the jar while the soy candles are cooling.
Soy Mason Jar Candle Directions:
- Gather your candle supplies and put some wax paper down on the counter
- Put your Mason jars on the wax paper
- Put wick stickers on the bottom of the metal wick tab
- Center wick and place one in each jar pressing firmly so that the wick sticker will adhere to the jar properly. Sometimes it won’t if the jar is too cold so you may need to warm the jar up a bit first.
- Put your Pour Pot on the scale and 0 it out. Pour 1 lb of wax into the pour pot.
- Set your cooking pot on the stove and pour water into it so that it is about 1 and a half inches deep.
- Set your Pour pot with the wax in it, inside the cooking pot and turn stove to medium low.
- Set your candy thermometer in the pour pot. Set a timer for about 10min. So you don’t forget about the wax and keep an eye on the thermometer.
- When the thermometer reaches 180 degrees, take the pour pot out and set it on the scale again and 0 it out.
- Next add your one ounce of fragrance oil (by weight) and stir well.
- Now add the dye before the wax cools below 165 degrees. If it has already cooled too much, just set the pour pot back into the pan of water and heat it back up to 170-180 degrees.
- Stir the dye well and then let the wax sit and cool.
- When the soy wax reaches 95-110 degrees it is time to pour into the candle jars. Stir a few times again first. Slowly pour the soy wax into your mason jars. Pouring slowly makes sure that you don’t have any air bubbles. Once you have filled your mason jars you can carefully put the chip clip on each candle wick to keep it centered in the jar while cooling.
- Let the soy candles cool for at least an hour before taking the clips off and trimming the wicks to about 1/4 inch.
- Let the soy candles cure at least 24 hours before burning them. A couple of days is ideal.
Want more soy candle recipes and in depth instruction?
Download The Soy Candle Making Book today!
Thank-you so much for sharing your most helpful tips and knowledge.
I’ve been making soy candles recently and this has been most helpful. The process is fairly new to me compared to my previous experience with candle making.
Penny
I am glad to be able to help! If you have any questions just let me know 🙂
Hi,
Just wanted to say I found your site helpful!
I want to begin making candles and maybe soaps as a hobby, possibly to sell as well.
I’d like to find country type scents though, like country store type scents.
Any idea where to purchase?
Thanks,
Chris
Check out my post about fragrance oils. There are links to the different companys I recommend. Candlecocoon is probably one of the best ones for the quality of fragrances and I know they have some country type scents. Any of the other companies would have country scents too.
Hi,
Thank you for all this info! I can’t wait to start making some candles! Where do you find your mason jars? I love them!
Thanks,
Sheri
Hi Sheri! For some reason I was not getting notified of comments here, so I’m very sorry for getting back to you so late! I get my mason jars from Candlesoylutions.com. I love the square mason jars too!
Very informative website, so thank you. I was wondering if these instructions would be applicable to use with a wine bottle that has been cut instead of a mason jar. Or if you have any other suggestions that may work for me, they would be greatly appreciated.
Natalie, I am very sorry for not getting back to you sooner. For some reason I didn’t get notified of some of the comments here. You could definitely use these instructions for any container. Just measure the diameter of your bottle and find a wick that will work with that size. I would love to hear how it works out for you!
Hi I am using 464 gb wax, I was told by many people to pour at 160 degrees then half say 140 degrees, I’m so confused… I had tested over 40 candles using Cargill c-3 no success and hoping to get it right with this wax before using so much of my stuff like the other way…any help would be greatly appreciated…I’m using eco wicks.thank you.
I am testing the GB 464 right now. I’ve tested at pouring 170, 135, 130, 110, 100, 90 degrees so far. I am having really weird results. They have all had sink holes, which I don’t normally have a problem with in soy wax. The higher temps looked excellent except for the sink hole. The lower temps had less of a sink hole and the 90 degree one had no sink hole, but still some cracking and just didn’t look as nice and smooth as the ones poured at higher temp. They are also burning funny…..like there are too many air bubbles and so it’s crackling and popping when it burns. The first four I made are not burning well at all. The next ones, I made sure stir them very very slowly and pour very slowly. Still some crackling, but so far it is a lot less.
Anyway, I am still going to do a couple more tests since I still have some of the wax left. I’ll be doing a whole article on it when I’m done. Personally, I have had the best results with the Enchanted Lites (now called Midwest Soy) 100% soy, the Millenium blend and the Golden Brands 415 wax. They usually pour nice and consistent, and I’ve never had the troubles I am having with the 464 wax!
I’ve heard rave reviews about the 464, so, I don’t know, maybe I got a bad batch…but if that’s the case, I wouldn’t want to risk that again when I’ve never gotten a “bad batch” with my regular wax (Midwest Soy 100% soy wax)
I was using pb pillar soy blend and tested about 30 candles before realizing you can use it for tarts and melts but not container candles, so I started on Cargill c- 3, tested about 15 and gave up on that one. Next came GB 464, I have done about 20 so far, no sink holes, no frosting but NO hot throw until tonight… Finally made one that is just about perfect (melt pool might be a tad deep but everything else is perfect & the smell is divine so I made 3 more same process with different Fragrance oils. I will test them in a week Fingers crossed. 🙂
That’s great, I’m glad to hear you’ve had a break through after all that testing! 🙂 I’m wondering if maybe I should try ordering some 464 from somewhere else and try it. Where did you get yours from? What oils did you use with it?
I used the Eco 14 wicks in a few of mine and the ones I’ve tested, so far I like that wick. Just wish the wax wasn’t having so many issues :/ I put some of my regular wicks in also but same problem with burning, so I know it’s not the wicks since they work fine in my other candles. Very strange lol
Hi I bought my GB 464 from thecandlemakerstore and I buy 95 percent of my FO’s from Candle science. sex on the beach with the eco 14, lemon with the eco 14, honey suckle jasmine, I tried just about every combination possible, if 1 thing worked the others didn’t , I’m going to make those tomorrow, I made 3 peach tonight and will test them in 5 – 7 days.. I can’t seem to get any combo in the 8oz, 4oz jars lol, so it is tins for now. pina colada will be after those.
I also was doing all my testing in the jars with eco 10 & 12 Wicks but will be trying all with the 14 now…. seriously, it has taken me ages to get 1 right lol and it really is exciting because I had no issues at all. after adding fo I stirred exactly (2 minutes) and then put them in a shoe box to harden .
You said you use ECO 14 in your candles, are they jars /Tins? and what size are you using those wicks in/….. I’m still having some issues with the jars but the ECO 10 seems to be working better than all the other wicks I tried…. I have done most of my candles in the tins, all look fine, no sink holes, cold throw and hot throw great…. the only issue I have is on the second burn, after you blow it out and it hardens, it doesn’t look pretty but doesn’t affect the burn or throw & so many others have told me, soy does that sometimes and not to worry about that if everything else is good…. so I’m not. how is your testing going with the 464?. any luck… no sink holes and nice finish if you pour at 140 142 .
Hi! I would like to use essential oils to scent my candles but cannot find measurements-can you recommend any? TY!
Hi! I’m so excited to try making my own candles. I’ve never made anything “homemade” before lol Is it necessary for my “pour pot” to be metal? Can it be a glass bowl? Only because that’s what I already have handy an I’d like to keep my supply list as small as possible. Also, I recently ordered A TON of essential oils because I’m going to try making some of my own personal care items. Can I use these EO instead of FO? If so, how much would I use in let’s say an 8oz mason jar? Thank you!
Yvonne, sorry for the late post! I thought I had already approved your comment, but I didn’t! Anyway, yes, you can use a glass bowl for a pour pot. You can also use essential oils instead of fragrance oil. I haven’t experimented with essential oils much yet, but it’s really going to depend on the eo. I’ve used Lemongrass and it was nice and strong and I only used probably .5 oz for 1lb of wax, maybe a little more. So I would try .25oz for an 8oz candle first and see how that works. If the essential oil isn’t a particularly strong smelling one than start with a bit more.
Hi,
can you please help me!!! i been watching your videos and have been following what you been saying. I love all your videos. I just recently started making soy candles and I mus say i love it. Unfourntely I am starting to feel like I am wasting my money because I am not getting a good hot throw from them… I don’t even know if I can sell the ones that I have. Now some of mine smell amazing but then other don’t have anything. I have used pine and it is amazing but i also used Egg Nog and it is horrible. Im considering going to parrafin because i been reading that soy wax will not give off a hot throw. Can you help!!! any advice would be great, i feel like i should give up but I don’t want to because I love it!!!
I love watching your videos
Hi,
I am having issues with my wick mushrooming in my jar candle. I am using a CD wick (size 8), which I heard was not suppose to mushroom. I am also using 415 Golden Wax poured at 100 Degrees and Bitter Creek South Mango FO which I added at 180 degrees. (I also am getting little to no hot throw). Any ideas on what this issue might be?
Thank you!
Katherine
Katherine, what diameter is the jar you are using? How much fragrance oil?
2 7/8″ is the diameter of the candle. And I am using .5 oz of FO to 8oz of wax
Hello,
I love your site. I am struggling with getting a good hot throw. I am currently using 444 soy wax. I use 1 oz fragrance with 1 lb wax. I heat my wax to 180 and let it cook. I add fragrance when the wax reaches around 110 and stir for 2 minutes. I then pour wax. Candles look beautiful and have a great cold throw, but the hot throw is lacking. I have done a lot of research and I think max fragrance is recommended as 2% or 2 oz per pound of wax. Any suggestions?
I am using the Millenium wax. The directions say to heat it to 160 and add the following at 130. On a test candle, I barely had a hot throw. Should I up the temp that I add the following in?
Following= fragrance oil. I tried saying fo and my phone auto corrected it. Sorry
i currentIy Iive in the uk and make soy wax meIts using advanced eco soycb advanced soy this makes fantastic tarts but yet when i try and make a candIe i onIy get coId scent when i burn it i cant smeII anything can anybody pIease heIp me thanks in advance xx
My son made a soy wax candle in layers using crayons for the color. It is beautiful. However, after it was all done, the next day we can see some lines around the jar in a few places. the lines are not the same color as the wax in those spots. Any thoughts as to what this may be? He is taking it to the fair for 4-H so want to make sure this isn’t a fatal flaw. Thanks!