The other main material that you require for making candles is a wick. These days we can buy various kinds of wicks directly from the craft shop but there was a time when these were made at home. The wick is an important part of the candle since the manner in which it sits in the candle decides the manner in which the candle will burn.

There are essentially three types of wicks - cored, flat and square and round. The cored wicks have a strong and rigid center that is made from cotton, paper or zinc. This strong core allows the wick to stand erect in the melted wax when the candle is being allows to sit. Some people tried to pass of lead core wicks as zinc wicks a few years back; something that triggered off a huge controversy.

The flat or braided wick looks like braid of hair. It is essentially a braid made of three or more strands of thread. These are extremely popular since they uncurl slightly when the candle burnt and allow for self-trimming. The flat wicks come in various sized that can be identified based on the number of threads that have been used to make them. You can find options that range from 24 ply to 36 ply and more. The square and round wicks are also braided or knitted wicks that curl when lit. These are however, rounder and thicker to allow for better burning. Square wicks are essentially used for beeswax candles but they have been used for other candles as well.