How to Make Hanging Candles

Small votives in aluminum cups make replacement easy in hanging candles.

Candles provide soft, warm, flickering light that is perfect for evening relaxing, dining and entertainment. Suspended in clusters from low-hanging boughs, hanging candles sway gently in the breeze, reminiscent of summer fireflies. Pre-made hanging candles are available at home decorating stores, but you can save a lot of money by making your own. Using inexpensive materials and simple tools, you can make a hanging candle in only minutes.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 4 to 8 oz. glass jar
• Craft wire: base metal, 14 to 18 gauge
• Wire cutter
• Needle-nose pliers
• Safety goggles
• Votive candles
• Matchstick or fireplace lighter

1. Select wide-mouth jars for your hanging candles. empty glass jar image by vadim kozlovsky from Fotolia.com

   Select jars for hanging candles. Recycled 8 oz. wide-mouth jars are ideal, but any small glass container with a protruding lip or threaded rim will work. Candles that have been formed by pouring wax into small jars will also work, as long as the container has a lip or rim that will prevent wrapped wire from slipping.

2. Use craft wire to hang the candles. Solder wire image by naolin from Fotolia.com

   Cut 2 pieces of wire. For the section that you will wrap around the jar (jar wire), cut a piece that is five times the diameter of the jar. For the section that will suspend the candle (hanger wire), cut a piece that is about 2.5 times the distance you want to hang the candle from its overhead support (tree limb, patio ceiling beam, etc.).

3. Gather the ends of jar wire and twist them together (three or four twists) near their ends. Using needle-nose pliers, curl the short tag-ends of the jar wires in little spiral shapes so the wires won't snag you or your clothing. Your jar wire will be a big loop.

4. Hold the jar wire with your thumbs, centering the twisted portion halfway between your thumbs. Move your hands apart so the wire loop forms and maintains an elongated oval shape. Place the wire around the lip of the jar, centering the twisted portion on the jar. This will form two wire arcs ,180 degrees from each other (half circles of wire, across the jar from each other). Pinch the arcs next to the jar on each side and twist three or four times to form two wire loops, one on each side of the jar. The wire wrapped around the jar should be snugly secured.

5. Bend the loops up so they are parallel to the sides of the jar.

6. Bend the hanger wire in half. Thread 3 inches of each end through a loop of wire on the jar. Bend it over and twist it onto itself, three or four times, affixing the hanger wire to the loops on the jar. Suspend the jar from an overhead hook. If you want to hang the jar from a tree bough, find the center of the suspension wire and fold it into the shape of a hook.

7. A fireplace lighter lets you light candles in jars without injury. red lighter for oven image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com

   Place a votive candle in the jar and light it. For safety, use a long matchstick or a fireplace lighter.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not suspend candles any closer than 18 inches from a tree branch or overhead structure.

• If you are hanging a cluster of candles, suspension wires should be longer, preventing cumulative heat from becoming a fire hazard.

• Never leave burning candles unattended.

References

• Make-Stuff: Hanging Candle Holders

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish