In candle making, learning how to properly wick a candle can often be the most challenging part of the craft. The correct wick will play a big role on how well and safely your candle performs. Before selecting a wick, you must consider facts such as what wax you are using, if you are using fragrance or dye and what is the diameter of the candle. From there, you can narrow down your options and make a selection based on testing.

Wicks come in all types and sizes. Most of them perform differently than others and are made for certain types of wax. They come pre-cut and tabbed or on a spool. Here are the most common or popular types of wicks:

RRD Series is a round, braided, cotton core wick designed for vegetable waxes such as soy and palm and higher levels of fragrance oil. The wick has a slight curl which minimizes mushrooming and reduces smoking. It is also a self-trimming wick.

Eco Series is a coreless, flat cotton wick with paper threads. It is self-trimming with minimal mushrooming, smoke and soot. It is designed to perform well in vegetable waxes, blends and low melt point paraffin wax.

LX Series consists of a specially braided flat wick that performs well in pillars and containers. It is made to have a slight curl while burning and minimizes mushrooming and smoking. It is also self-trimming.

HTP Series is a coreless, cotton braided wick that is designed to have a slight curl, causing minimal mushrooming and smoking.

CD Series is a slightly curled, flat braided wick that produces a clean burn. The wick is self-trimming.

Paper Core wicks burn the hottest and are recommended for waxes that require heavy duty wicking.

Flat Braid wicks are designed for free-standing candles, such as pillars. They have a slight curl for minimal mushrooming and an even burn.

Square Braid wicks are made from cotton and designed for tapers, pillars, citronella and beeswax candles.

Zinc Core wicks burn cooler than other wicks and are recommended for container candles.

Along with wicks being designed to meet certain standards, they are also available in a wide array of sizes. When choosing a wick size, you want to consider the components of your candle, such as wax, fragrance density, dye, additives but most importantly, the diameter of the container or mold.

Fortunately, many suppliers for candle making offer wick guides or recommendations based on the diameter of the candle. Unfortunately, these are only estimates and you should not rely on them. The suppliers that offer wicks will often base their guides on their own candle testing with different components than your own. For instance, they may be using paraffin wax and 1 oz. of fragrance oil when you are using a vegetable wax and 1.5 oz. of fragrance oil. Different formulas will cause different results.

If you do decide to follow the guide that is offered and the recommended wick, also purchase wicks that are a size larger and smaller to test. For instance, if a guide suggests a CD 12 wick, also purchase a CD 10 and CD 14. Always purchase in small amounts. Suppliers will often offer small sample packs of wicks for testing.

An important step once you have selected a wick (or wicks) is to conduct burn tests. When testing, you want to make sure you meet the following criteria:

1. A flame that is consistent in size and doesn't flicker often or drown in the wax.
2. A melt pool that develops within a reasonable time when burning.
3. Minimal smoking or mushrooming.
4. The temperature of the candle container does not become too hot.
5. Minimal afterglow.
6. A fairly good scent throw.

To conduct a burn test, follow these steps:

Note: The length of a burn test will coincide with the diameter of the candle. For instance, if a candle is 3.5 inches in diameter, the burn test should be 3.5 hours long.

1. After the wax has been poured and cured, trim the wick to 1/4 inch. If testing multiple wicks in multiple candles, label each candle with the corresponding wick.
2. Candles should be placed at least three inches apart on a flat, heat resistant and draft free surface. They should be in an area that is in plain sight. Do not leave candles unattended!
3. Light the candles and take note of the time.
4. After two hours, examine the candles and take note of the flame, wick appearance and melt pool in each one. How high or low are the flames? Are they flickering? Is the wick mushrooming, smoking or producing soot? How big is the melt pool?
5. After the total number of hours has passed, take note of the melt pools and wicks and extinguish the flames. Depending on the type of wax you use, a full melt pool should be achieved and should be 1/2 inches deep. If the wick is mushrooming too much or producing too much soot, the wick may be too big.
6. Allow the candle to cool and then repeat steps 1-5 until the candle is completely burned.

Note: If you are using a soy or palm wax, it may take one or two burns before the melt pool reaches the edge. Vegetable waxes tend to burn down and then out as opposed to other waxes. If you are using vegetable wax and have not achieved a full melt pool on the first burn, keep an eye on the melt pool on subsequent tests. If the wick fails to produce a small melt pool, it may be too small.

Power Burning

Many candle makers will conduct what they call "Power Burning" once they have selected the right wick. Although all candles come with warnings and instructions, failure to follow them is a common occurrence. Candle makers will conduct burn tests with their final chosen wick and burn the candle continuously without extinguishing to see how the candle performs.

Here are some common problems and possible solutions:

Problem: Candle is smoking or producing soot.

Cause: Wick is not trimmed, candle is burning near a draft, wick is too large, the use of vegetable shortening as an additive or too much fragrance oil.

Solution: Trim the wick, keep the candle out of drafts, try a smaller wick, cut out any additives or reduce the amount of fragrance oil used.

Problem: Candle wick keeps drowning.

Cause: Wick is too small.

Solution: Increase wick size and test.

Problem: Small melt pool or leftover wax on sides of container.

Cause: Vegetable wax (burns down the middle first and then out), wick may be too small, wax is too hard.

Solution: Vegetables waxes may need more than one burn to reach the sides. Increase wick size. Try a softer wax or reduce hardening additives such as styric acid.

Problem: Flame flickers too much.

Cause: Wick is too large or there may be water in the wax.

Solution: Try a smaller wick and do not allow water to mix into wax.

Problem: Candle burns unevenly.

Cause: Wick is not centered, candle is burning near a draft, candle has multiple wicks that are not evenly spaced.

Solution: Make sure wick is centered and that multiple wicks are spaced evenly. Keep candles out of drafts.

Problem: Wick mushrooms a lot.

Cause: Type of wick, wick is too large, too much fragrance oil.

Solution: Choose a wick known to have minimal mushrooming, try a smaller wick or adjust the amount of fragrance oil used.

Problem: No or very little scent throw.

Cause: Insufficient melt pool, fragrance added too soon to the wax, quality of scent is poor, you have become desensitized to the scent, too little or too much fragrance oil, wax was poured too hot, wick may be too little or too big.

Solution: Adjust the wick, try adding fragrance oil before pouring, choose a higher quality oil, allow someone else to burn a candle in their home to test the scent throw, add only 1 oz. of fragrance oil per lb (16 oz.) of wax.

Problem: Flame is too large/too small.

Cause: Wick is either too large or too small.

Solution: If the flame is too large, try a smaller wick. If the flame is too small, try a larger wick.